GHI: It's The Fear
by musicormisery4105
Summary: GHI FIC. Accompanied with two new members, the "Ghost Hunters International" team is investigating all over Europe. Will the cases prove to be too much for the newbies? And what happens when fine lines are crossed with the other investigators? Dustin/OC.
1. WG: Part 1 of 7

**Authors Note**: _Hello all, so I just couldn't wait any longer. I'm extremely excited about posting this story. Now, the only reason I'm posting it is because it's completely done and finished. There are seven chapters in all but it could be continued with other investigations. I haven't decided if I will or not, I guess it will depend on if I get any response to this story. It's all based off of the first episode in_ GHI Season Two: Wicklow's Goal_. _**IMPORTANT**: **Also, I KNOW that Dustin is married and has children, but for the sake of this story, he IS single as is Barry. (Now, I'm not sure if _he_ is married or not but I know Dustin is...) **_Mercedes is my main character, but Aisha also plays a big role in it as well :) I'm also sorry to any of my Twilight fanfic fans, I know you want me to update, but I'm having some really bad writers block with both _Lachrymose_ and_ Girl With Golden Eyes_. I know the direction I want the story to go, but I'm just not feeling the writing. They aren't on Hiatus, but I don't know when I'll next be updating. I'm hoping that this short story will help me get over my writers block. Anyways, I hope you enjoy "**It's The Fear**" and please review :)_

_Peace,_

_- RIP_

**Disclaimer**: _I, musicormisery, do not own any of the characters mentioned except for Aisha and Mercedes. Robb, Dustin, Barry and Joe obviously belong to themselves and the idea of GHI belongs to Sci-Fi and TAPS. This is purely for entertainment purposes only. _

**Summery**: _When Angela and Brandy both leave the GHI team, Robb has to find two new females for the job. When he recruits Mercedes and Aisha, things start to look up. But will they be able to handle the pressure of being on a TV show and investigating true haunted location in Wicklow, Ireland? What happens when boundary lines are crossed with two of their fellow investigators? Ghost Hunters International fic. Dustin/OC. Barry/OC._

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_Crazy Dreams_

- by -

Carrie Underwood

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 1 of 7**

**Robb POV**

- _**Louth, Ireland. April 2009**_ -

"Robb?"

I was going over that case that we would be going on in just a few short weeks when I heard a knock at the door and a shaky voice speak to me. I recognized the voice immediately—it was one of my team members and the one who had set up the new case that I was currently looking over. The case itself was brilliant, but it was going to be tough. Without our sixth team member, Angela, here to help us I wasn't sure how we were going to do it. I knew that I needed to find another investigator to take her place. When I finally looked up I saw Brandy Greene, our case manager, standing outside my bedroom door hesitantly with a frown on her face.

"Oh hey Brandy, what's up? Do you need something?" I asked her with a smile. I wasn't sure why on earth she was acting so timid. Something _had _to be up.

She fidgeted slightly, "Uhm, I'm not sure exactly how I can tell you this Robb. But—" She cut herself off. I nodded my head, waiting for her to tell me what was going on. "I have to leave GHI. As you know, there are some problems going on back at home with my sister and well to be honest, everything is getting way to stressful for me. I love you guys, I love investigating but…it's becoming too much and with things being the way they are back home, I think it's time for me to back out."

I sighed heavily and ran a hand over my face. This was the most awful thing that could happen at the moment. Angela was gone and now Brandy was leaving as well which left us with four investigators. We were now going to be two short of a full team. I would either have to pull some strings and get some help or find two totally new investigators to join the show. How on earth was I going to be able to accomplish that in less than two weeks? It just wasn't going to be possible!

"Brandy, I'm not going to lie. This is the _worst_ possible time that you could choose to back out." I said with a loud, vaguely annoyed sigh.

She frowned, "I know Robb! I feel like I'm letting the team down, but this is important. You have to understand that. I need to go home, _soon, _to deal with things but, I don't think I'll be coming back after they're dealt with."

"I know, I know. You wouldn't be doing something like this if it wasn't important. I appreciate you're honesty but if you don't come back then we're two investigators down. I don't have anyone to replace you or Angela for that matter. We'll need replacements, especially if we are going to investigate that prison in Ireland that you picked out at the end of last season." I told her.

Brandy nodded, "I'm so sorry Robb. I don't think I can apologize enough. I feel so horrible about all this." she said. "I will help you find two investigators though. I can interview them for you. There are already some good investigators lined up, I could interview them and send you the tapes to go over and you can choose from those." she offered. "I feel like it's the least I can do for putting you and the team through all of this."

"Sure thing, Brandy. That'd be a great help actually. I just need to talk to the other GHI guys and let them know what's happening." I told her.

Brandy nodded once more and left my office, leaving me a little bit more panicked and yet a little bit more relaxed than I had been before she had entered it. Brandy was a terrific investigator and now she was leaving as well. The new investigators would have to be female, we already had four male investigators and since we had lost our two females, it was obvious who would have to replace them.

I decided to talk to the other three GHI guys and find out their thoughts on the situation. We were currently camping out in Ireland, waiting for the shoot to begin. Barry had graciously let us hang out at his place until the shoot commenced, when the time came we would all head down to Wicklow, Ireland where we would be investigating the prison there.

Making my way to the closest guest room, I knocked on the door. One of my investigators, Joe Chin, answered the door. "Oh, hey Robb, do you need something?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, do you think you could go track down Dustin and Barry for me? I need all three of you to come to my room." I requested. "There is something important I need to discuss with all of you."

"Sure thing," Joe replied as he left his room to go find the two other guys I had requested.

I strode back to my room, trying to think of how I was going to be able to tell the guys that we were now two investigators short. The guys were pretty level headed and would probably take it well without any major incidents but this was going to be a major problem for us. What if Brandy couldn't find any good replacements? What would we do then?

A knock on the molding beside my open door brought me from my thoughts. I turned to see Joe standing at the door with Barry Fitzgerald, our tech manager and Dustin Pari, another one of our investigators. They all wore matching curious expressions on their face and if we wouldn't have been in a serious situation at the moment, I probably would have cracked a joke or teased them about it. I gestured for them all to come into the room and sit down. They all obliged without a word.

I started, "Well, as you guys know, Angela left our team which means we needed to get another member. We haven't found one yet so I thought that we could cope with the next few investigations before getting someone else. But I found out today that Brandy has to leave as well and she probably isn't coming back, which leaves us two investigators short…" I paused momentarily to hear their responses.

"Oh shit, are you serious man?" Dustin asked as he rubbed his face with his hand.

Barry spoke, "This could be quite the problem." he sighed. "Without Brandy we don't have a case manager as well."

I nodded, "I know, this is pretty much the worst thing that could happen right now and I have no idea how we are going to find and train two new ghost hunters in less than two weeks. Dustin can cover as case manager again like he did when Donna left but we can't go investigate with our only investigators. It'll be impossible."

"Well, do you know anyone who would be interested in helping us? Someone who already has the experience?" Dustin asked.

I shrugged.

Joe looked thoughtful, "What about those two investigators you met when we were investigating the Spalding Inn? You said that they sounded creditable and thought about asking one of them to join the team a while back but then decided against it because they already had their own Paranormal Society. Why don't you call them up and ask both of them to at least help us for this case. If they're good and seem to mesh well with us, we could always ask them to join the team." he said.

I put my hand to my chin, trying to think of what exactly he was talking about. Suddenly, it came to me. When we had been investigating the Spalding Inn at the request of Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, I had met two ghost hunters who were really interested in our side of things when it came to paranormal investigating. They did a lot of debunking and were pretty experienced when it came to using equipment that we used. They had honestly impressed me because at first I thought that they were just two fans asking for autographs but it turned out that they wanted to talk to me because they wanted some advice to use on their own investigations. The two were both female and seemed very solid. I guessed they were in their mid-twenties but I couldn't be for certain. But all in all, the two girls could be the answer to our problems.

"Joe!" I exclaimed, startling him slightly, "That's a fantastic idea. Why didn't I think of that?" I wondered.

Dustin rolled his eyes at me while Barry and Joe just hooted in response.

"So are you going to give them a call?" Dustin finally asked.

I nodded, "Might as well." I said.

"Well, we will leave you to that then." Barry said.

I nodded and picked up my cell phone and went through the contacts after all three guys had left the room and closed the door behind them. When I reached '_M&A Paranormal Group_' I dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. Hopefully they would be up the challenge because without them, I wasn't sure what we could possibly do.

* * *

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Whitefield, New Hampshire. April 2009**_ -

"Hey Aish, did you get the popcorn?" I asked my best friend and fellow paranormal investigator.

Said best friend then walked into our apartment livingroom with a large blue bowel that had two bags worth of those delectable smelling kernels. I practically started drooling on the spot. I had a slight addiction to popcorn, especially when it was covered in butter and salt.

"Did you already put in the DVD?" Aisha asked.

I nodded, "Sure did."

I guess I should explain some things first. My name is Mercedes Culvert. I'm pretty average. I come from a regular American family that consists of my parents and a younger brother. I'm about average height and weight for an almost twenty-four year old woman. I also have layered dark auburn colored hair and bright blue eyes. I am twenty-three years old, turning twenty-four in about three weeks. I work as a professional photographer who on the side does paranormal investigating. I'm what you can call a scientific investigator. I learned everything that I could from the '_TAPS'_ organization. I try and debunk things before going out and saying that a place is outright haunted. I try and find natural, earthly causes for things before labeling them as paranormal.

I live in the small town of Whitefield, New Hampshire with my best friend, Aisha Aguilar. She is short and tiny but has a very fiery personality. For a newly turned twenty-seven year old, she acts sometimes like a teenager still. She told me that it's because she wants to preserve her youth. At the time, I made some kind of joke about her going to Neverland. She had quickly shut up after me telling her that because apparently she didn't want to go to Michael Jackson's fantasy land. Aisha has dark hair and eyes that work well with her tan skin. She was born and raised in Spain and moved over to the States when she was twelve with her parents. We met during about three years ago when I was still in college. I was doing some amateur photography work when we stumbled into each other. We talked for a while and ended up spending the entire day together going through some of my photographer books and discussing my dream to open my own photography shop. After I graduated from college, that dream became a reality with the help of Aisha. We decided to be co-partners and opened the shop together which has become a huge success. Our story wasn't much different than the story of Jason and Grant from _Ghost Hunters_ only instead of being plumbers, we were photographers.

After working with and around each other for a couple of months, we amiably discovered that we both had a passion for paranormal investigating and decided to team up to help those around us. We liked to think of ourselves as an amateur Jason and Grant, who were practically role models to us. The highlight of our lives was when we got to meet and talk with Robb Demarest, the lead investigator of _Ghost Hunters International_, which happened to be one of mine and Aisha's favorite shows. He seemed impressed with our knowledge of the paranormal field. Much to our delight, we exchanged our contact information. Robb made us promise to call him if we ever needed any help with our investigations.

But now, Aisha and I were just relaxing on a boring Saturday night in our apartment, getting ready to watch our _Ghost Hunters International_ DVD. We had already watched all the original _Ghost Hunters_ DVD's and were now moving on to the GHI ones. Of course, we had watched them all before many times, but it was if they never got old. Each time we watched them we found something new to either entertain ourselves with, or to point out.

I had just started one of our favorite episodes, _Dracula's Castle_, and was about to dig into the big bowl of popcorn when our work cell phone started ringing. We had a separate phone that was used especially for people who wanted us to come and investigate their homes. When I checked the Caller ID, it was a restricted number, which did happen occasionally when someone thought it would be hilarious to prank us. It really was just immature and annoying. I really hoped that this wasn't one of those cases when a couple of teenagers wanted to have some fun on a Saturday night. I paused the TV and answered the phone, putting it on speaker so Aisha could hear the conversation as well.

"Hello? This is _M&A Paranormal Investigating_." I answered.

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat before a male voice started speaking. "Hey, is this Aisha and Mercedes?" the voice spoke.

"This sure is," Aisha answered. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, I'm sure you probably remember me, we met in you're hometown of Whitefield. This is Robb Demarest." The voice spoke.

Aisha and I looked at each other in shock, our jaws hanging open in complete and total shock. Someone _had _to be pranking us. "Oh, h-hi Robb. Yeah, we r-remember you. Actually, we were just sitting down getting ready to w-watch some GHI episodes." I said nervously.

Robb chuckled, "Well, what I needed to discuss with you is actually about GHI. See, we recently lost two investigators and I was wondering if you two would be interesting in joining the team." he said. "We would really appreciate you're help. I know it is short notice but we're kind of desperate here. I just found out that Brandy was leaving today and the show's shooting starts in less than two weeks. We needed to trained and responsible investigators to join the team and I can't think of two better people for the job." Robb commented.

Aisha spoke, "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why us?" she asked.

"You two impressed me beyond words when you came to ask for advice. You were professional and friendly. Plus, you're line of work is quite like our own. I have already spoke with Barry, Dustin and Joe and they'd be happy to have you aboard." Robb explained.

Aisha and I looked at each other, we both knew that this was a once in a life opportunity and there was no way we could turn this down. After nodding at each other I spoke on our behalf, "We'd love you help you out Robb, just let us know where and when so we can book our tickets."

"Oh there is no need for that," Robb said. "Tickets are on us, think of it as a massive thank you from me and the team." he chuckled.

"Thanks," we said simultaneously and laughed, "So when do you need us out there? Oh and where is '_there' _exactly?" Aisha asked curiously.

"We'll probably fly you out in a few days, we're all staying at Barry's but we'll let you go straight to Wicklow, Ireland. I will meet you up there at the airport and let the other three guys get a bit more rest. I will want to introduce you all to the crew and just show you how things work. Then when the guys come down the day of the investigation, you can meet them." Robb arranged.

Aisha and I shared another silent conversation, "Okay, sounds good Robb. We're looking forward to meeting and working with you guys. Thank you _so_ much for the opportunity." I said.

Robb laughed, "No, thank _you _for helping us. I have no idea what I would do if you guys would have turned us down. But, I better go now. I don't want to run up your international phone-bill. Plus, I have to find Brandy and let her know we found replacements." he said, the last part was more to himself than us.

"Alright, well we'll see you soon." Aisha said.

"Okay, bye girls." Robb replied.

"Bye." I said and hung up the phone. Aisha looked and me and stood up on the couch and started jumping around like a fifteen year old girl instead of a twenty-seven year old one. "Oh my god, we're going to be part of GHI!" she squealed.

I stood up with her, just to humor her. "I know!" I replied.

"Oh god, what am I going to bring?" Aisha said, looking panicked.

I laughed, "Come on, I want to get packed already! I'm so excited!"

Aisha looked at me and we smiled at each other before we made our way to our separate bedrooms in the apartment to start packing. I literally could not believe that we had an opportunity like this. Somehow, I got the feeling that this was seriously going to change my life forever. And I was really looking forward to that change.

* * *

- _**Wicklow, Ireland. April 2009**_ -

The next week was hectic beyond belief. True to his word, we got a fax the very day after Robb contacted us giving us our flight information and telling us a little bit about the case that we were about to go on. Robb had Brandy give us a copy of the report so that we would know what we were getting ourselves into. The next few days after our talk with Robb were filled with packing, phone calls to family and making sure we had enough staff to cover the photography shop while we were gone. Luckily, everything had run smoothly and before we knew it we had boarded the plane and were on our way to Ireland.

Robb had picked us up at the airport and drove us in the GHI van to the hotel where he had booked everyone rooms. On the drive to the hotel, we had asked all sorts of questions which Robb had been happy to answer for us. He told us about how they made the TV show and let us in on everything we would possibly need to be GHI Investigators. Aisha and I just couldn't believe our luck. For me personally, it felt like a surreal dream in which I could wake up from at any moment.

By the time we made it to the hotel and checked it, Robb left Aisha and I alone to crash. We had some serious jet lag and we needed our rest. Robb had explained that between shoots and investigations we needed to get as much sleep as possible before during shooting we wouldn't get the chance to sleep very much. He warned us that our sleeping schedules would be seriously messed us at first but we would get used to it after a few investigations.

The day after we came to Ireland, we had to meet with the directors and sign all sorts of contracts. It was a very boring day and nearly put Aisha and I to sleep. But, Robb promised that that would be the one and only time we had to do our contracts. They signed us on for a full season and a few publicity shoots but Robb promised us that another member of the GHI team would be with us during all publicity shoots and that we had nothing to be worried about.

The next day, we met the crew. Meeting the crew was _fun_. They were all nice and funny and really made Aisha and I feel welcome. But, that wasn't what we were most worried about. Robb had assured us that the rest of the GHI team was looking forward to meeting us, but we both secretly wondered if they would like us. Meeting the rest of the GHI team was much more intimidating than meeting the camera crews.

The next few days we spent with Robb teaching us more about the equipment that we were using, which was just a little different than the stuff we were used to using. The days passed by so quickly because we were busy at all hours of the day. It seemed like we were constantly meeting new people or learning about something new or chatting with someone. It was completely overwhelming, but in a good way. I could already tell that this was going to be an amazing learning experience for Aisha and I.

Before we knew it, it was the night before filming started and the investigation began. Barry, Dustin and Joe were driving up in the other GHI van very, very early the next day. Robb estimated that they would probably arrive sometime between one and four o'clock in the morning. Robb was going to wait up for them, to show them to their rooms and fill them in on things but insisted that Aisha and I go to sleep. He told us that we needed to be well rested for the investigation the next day. Not wanting to argue, Aisha and I retreated to our room after saying goodnight to Robb.

"I can't believe we're meeting Dustin, Joe and Barry tomorrow," I said as I pulled down the covers in the suite that Aisha and I were sharing.

Aisha looked up at me and grinned, "I know! I'm so excited, but I'm also really nervous. What if they don't like us like Robb does?" she said as she sat down Indian style on the bed in her pajamas.

I followed her motions and sat down on my bed, right across from hers, mirroring her posture. "I know, I'm the same way. Out of all of them I think that Joe will be the easiest one to win over. He seems like a really…well, a chill kind of guy. I'm not sure about Barry and Dustin though." I replied.

"Yeah, I agree with you, but…we can't over think thing or else we will start worrying too much." Aisha said. "Why don't we just go to sleep like Robb said." she suggested as she let out a loud yawn.

I nodded, "Sounds good to me, I'm beat." I giggled as I lay down in bed.

"Goodnight Mercy," Aisha said, using my nickname.

"Night Aish," I replied.

* * *

_**So, your thoughts :) I hope you enjoy. There aren't many Ghost Hunters fics out there whether its on here or LJ or someplace...I counted twelve on here I think and they were almost ALL slash... -**_shudders**_- (No offense, I have_ no _problems with that sexuality preference or anything, but the thought of_ Dustin _sticking his tongue down another guy's throat has scarred me for life...again,_ no offense _to the writer.) So this is completely normal het pairings :) I also don't want this to just be a romance fic either. The investigation will play a huge role as well and there will be no extra evidence added except for what they find on the show. Personal experiences might be made up though but I'm going to try and stick to the actual investigation as much as possible. I hope that you like it and will take the time to review!_**


	2. WG: Part 2 of 7

**Authors Note:** _Well, I haven't got any reviews for this yet. But I'm going to continue posting anyways :) When have I ever just stopped writing because nobody was reviewing? I'd appreciate your thoughts, letting me know if you like the story, the characters, and all that :) It makes me see how my readers are actually thinking about my writing. So please, just leave a short review. Even if it's just a frowny face. Also, I have LiveJournal now. Look me up, I'm '_**parinormallove**_' :) I also have my own website, feel free to check that out as well. It's on my profile :) But anyways, back on topic. Here is the next chapter, I think this one is more exciting and I hope that you all will enjoy it. All the other characters are introduced here!_

_Peace,_

_- RIP._

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**PLAYLIST:**

_Starstruck_ - by - Lady GaGa

_(__**Mercedes**__)_

**AND**

_Black Cat _- by - Mayday Parade

(_**Aisha**_)

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 2 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland. April 2009**_ -

_Knock, Knock!_

"Yeah, hold on a sec!" I called out as I desperately tried to shove my sweater over my head without messing up my already severely messed up hair. I knew that at the moment it probably was beginning to resemble an afro. I hadn't gotten the chance to blow dye it or really even brush through it after my shower earlier that morning because as soon as I was out of the bathroom door to pick out my clothes for the day, Aisha had taken it over from me and rudely slammed and locked the door in my face. Aisha wasn't usually that spiteful, but she was usually a bitch in the mornings. She hated nothing more than being woken up and it usually took her a while to become her usual cheery self. Since she was currently taking her own sweet time getting ready, I was _very_ behind on getting dressed. I was a mess and I knew it. I only hoped that Robb would give us Aisha and I a little more time to get ready. I wanted to make a good impression on Dustin, Barry and Joe.

I ran over to the door as soon as I got my head through my sweater. I opened it, "Hey," I said cheerfully as I saw Robb standing at my door holding two steaming cups of coffee. "Come on in," I said, "Aish and I are just getting ready." I told him.

Robb nodded and walked in, closing the door behind him, "Mercedes, you look horrible—no offense of course. Did you get any sleep at all last night?" he asked me in a concerned voice.

I nodded, "Of course I did! Aisha is taking forever in the bathroom getting ready so I'm not exactly on time right now. Plus I'm really nervous and—" Robb cut me off.

"You don't have anything to worry about, they guys are going to love you two. Don't freak out so much." Robb said in a positive voice as he patted my arm.

"Thanks Robb," I said, picking up the coffee and taking a large sip of it, praying that it would wake me up and calm my nerves.

"It's no problem, Mercedes. And if it makes you feel any better, Dustin is taking _forever_ to make sure that his hair is absolutely perfect. So you don't have to worry about a thing." he said. "That boy usually takes longer to get ready than both of you two girls combined so don't worry about being late, because you won't be unless Dustin gets finished gelling his hair before you get to my suite." Robb reassured me.

I couldn't help but laugh about that. From what I had seen, Dustin's hair was gelled and spiky. I could understand why it took him so long to get ready. I smiled as a personal memory popped into my head from my teen years, "I can see why it takes Dustin so long to get ready in the morning. My brother used to spike his hair like Dustin does when he was in his pre-teens and it took him forever. Eventually my mother got put up with it and threw away all his hair products and refused to buy him more." I explained.

Robb laughed, "Maybe I should think about doing that to Dustin." he said while giving me a playful wink. "Sad thing is, Dustin isn't a teenager anymore and he still hasn't outgrown the hair phase yet, but that's just Dustin for you."

I snorted in response.

"Anyways, just get ready. We aren't in much of a rush yet—it's still pretty early. Just come down to my room when you're all ready to go. Barry and Joe are already hanging out there watching some sitcom and well, Dustin's probably still in the bathroom messing with his hair so don't worry about a thing. You can just come right in, I'll leave the door unlocked for you two." he told me.

I nodded, "Okay, it shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes."

"God, how I wish that Dustin would say that," Robb said sarcastically to the ceiling.

I laughed again and silently thanked Robb for easing the tension that I was feeling. He was becoming a great friend to both me and Aisha. I could only wish that the other guys would be as well. Robb was nice and a little bit sarcastic but he was also very serious and knew how to get things done. I could completely understand why he was chosen to the lead of GHI.

Before he left my room, Robb turned around and gave me a mischievous smirk. "And, uhm, by the way, you're sweater is on backwards." he told me with a large grin.

I frowned and looked down at my sweater before I scowled back up at him, "Thanks _Robb_." I said as I practically spit out his name.

He laughed and left the room. When he did I went over towards the bathroom door and started to bang my fist against it, hoping in vain that Aisha could hear me. To make sure she did, I started yelling. It was childish, but I really didn't want to be late. It was completely unprofessional to be late on your first day. "Hurry the hell up Aisha! I have to get ready too you know!" I shrieked at the door.

The door opened up and there Aisha stood, looking fabulous as always in a pair of fitted dark wash jeans, comfortable matching black ballet flats and a black fuzzy v-neck sweater. Her long dark hair was straightened to perfection and dark liner lined her brown eyes.

"Holy shit, Mercedes! You look like…well, shit." Aisha said.

I scowled, "Tell me about it." I muttered as I stormed past her and made my way into the hotels fancy bathroom. She followed me with her eyes as I started frantically brushing my hair, trying to tame its wild tresses. "Did you leave the flat iron on?" I asked.

Aisha leaned against the bathroom door and nodded, "Yes I did, I figured you would want to use it." she replied.

"Good," I replied as I picked it up and slowly began to straighten my hair. I was trying desperately to hurry but still look good. The first time that hundreds and thousands of people saw me on TV, I didn't want to resemble a drowned rat. Aisha must have noticed my distress because she came behind me and took the iron from me. "I'll straighten your hair for you and you can do you're makeup." she offered. "You're clothes look fine," Aisha said, pointing to my skinny jeans and magenta sweater. "But, you just _might _want to turn your sweater around. It's on backwards." she said with a giggle.

"Har-har, Robb said the same thing." I said with a scowl.

Aisha stopped straightening for a moment, "He was in here this morning?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, you were getting all prettied up when he brought us coffee. Yours is sitting on the table when you want it." I told her.

Aisha nodded silently and quickly finished straightening my hair. When she was done, she retreated into the actual bedroom suite to grab the coffee Robb had brought her while I got to work putting on my makeup. I put on a little liner and mascara before I deemed myself ready to rock n roll. I smiled at my reflection in the large mirror before I walked into the suite to see Aisha sitting casually on her bed watching some Irish sitcom, sipping on her coffee.

Aisha acknowledged me when I walked into the room, "You look pretty, Mercy." she told me with a grin.

I smiled, "Thanks for the help Aish, I'm calmer now. I'm still nervous but…" I trailed off.

"Do you think we should bring our stuff with us to Robb's room?" she asked me.

I shrugged, "Might as well, I don't know how long we'll be down there or if we'll even come back to our rooms. Robb never told me."

"I say we just bring it with us, that way we can show them that we're prepared." Aisha suggested.

"Either that or we're extremely materialistic." I joked.

I giggled as she rolled her eyes, "Whatever, come on, let's hurry up and get to Robb's before you have another meltdown." she teased me.

I stuck my tongue out at her childishly before I grabbed our room keys, my purse that had my cell phone and other personal stuff in it and the papers that Robb had given to us over the last few days with all the information on the case. I found myself shaking slightly as I shut the door to our suite behind me and started to follow Aisha to Robb, and now Dustin's, room.

Aisha calmly walked up to the door and knocked, "He told us to just walk in," I whispered to her in a shaky voice.

Aisha nodded and started to push open the door when she turned to me, "Relax." she said.

I nodded and collected myself as Aisha pushed open the door at the same time that someone else was about the open it. Unfortunately, Aisha didn't know this and pushed a little too hard, consequently hitting the person behind the door in the face…with said door.

"Ooof!" A male voice exclaimed in complete astonishment. "Bloody hell that hurt!"

Aisha's hand flew to her mouth and a dark red blush appeared on her tan cheeks as she poked her head around the door to get a look at whoever she had smacked in the face, "Oh my god, I'm so, so sorry!" she cried. I watched as her demeanor stiffened and her next words came out as stutters, "I—I didn't realize y-you were there and I-I…" she trailed off awkwardly.

The person behind the door, opened it further and I saw a tall, lean man who had short dirty blond hair and a little scruff of a goatee on his face and tired eyes. He was rubbing his nose and muttering curse words in a thick Irish accent. This was obviously Barry. Hopefully he would be forgiving about the door incident.

Aisha and I stood awkwardly at the door, not sure exactly what to say or do. It was quickly turning into an awkward situation. Suddenly, Barry's shoulder started shaking slightly as he rubbed his nose. At first I thought he was crying and my eyes widened in mortification. But then, I realized that he was actually _laughing_ when a loud snort burst from his mouth, successfully causing both Aisha and I to jump in surprised. Our surprise caused three other sets of laughter to sound from further inside the room.

"Well that was quite the wake up call," Barry said, still laughing as he held out his hand to Aisha. "I'm Barry Fitzgerald and I assume you are the culprit. Although, it seems both of you are blushing like mad so I'm not sure which one is the real wrongdoer." he said in joyful voice. I was surprised, not many people would be so cheerful after being hit in the face by a wooden door.

"I'm Aisha," Aisha muttered quietly. "It was me who accidently hit you with the door. Mercedes just gets embarrassed really easily."

Barry laughed again, "There's no need to be embarrassed, darling." he said, throwing his arm around her slightly in comfort, "It was an accident, and a funny one at that. It may have hurt, but I think it broke the ice of tension in the room." he said pleasantly. Aisha looked up at him with wide eyes, staring at him and his arm that was wrapped around her shoulders in complete amazement. Barry then turned his attention to me, "And you must be Mercedes. There is no reason for you to be embarrassed either. No blood, no foul." he said, holding out his hand. I took his and he shook it firmly, all the while offering me a kind smile.

I looked past behind Barry and finally noticed that three other pairs of eyes were trained on Aisha and I. Robb was sitting at the table in the back of the room, I noticed him right off the bat. The grin on his face, if possible, got bigger when he noticed me looking at him and I could tell that he found the entire interaction completely entertaining. I then noticed a slightly chubby man with Asian features sitting on the bed with a gleeful grin on his face.

'_Definitely Joe_.' I thought.

Then, my eyes turned to the last figure, who was leaning out of the bathroom with spiky brown hair that was frosted blond on the tips, bright green eyes and a can of gel in his hand.

'_Dustin_…' I thought breathlessly. '_If my thoughts can even _be_ breathless…well, they definitely are at this point._'

The stare that he was giving me was so intense, that I thought he was literally trying to stare right through me. I blushed slightly under his gaze and looked down at the floor while scooting over closer to Aisha. I had always thought that Dustin was really cute on the TV show, but I had never seen him in person until now. He was even _cuter_ in person.

'_Screw that, he's gorgeous_!' I thought.

I was finally able to break away from Dustin's staring when Barry placed one large hand on one of shoulders and then did the same to Aisha's. He kindly led us past the bathroom where Dustin's was standing and into the back of the room where Robb and Joe were seated with doppelganger grins on their faces. Robb looked at me, "I see you fixed your sweater, Mercedes." he teased.

"Yes I did," I said with a curt nod while narrowed my eyes slightly at his smirking form, "Thanks for the warning." I spat out sarcastically.

Robb laughed at my obvious annoyance, "Anytime."

I tried to focus on my argument with Robb but I couldn't because just at the moment I got the sensation of someone staring me down. It was odd and most people thought I was crazy for it, but I always knew when someone was staring at me. I felt eyes burrowing in the back of my head, it was extremely unnerving for me and so I turned my head slightly. I almost rolled my eyes when I saw that Dustin had stopped messing around with his hair and followed us into the room. I met his probing gaze and couldn't turn away until I heard Joe start talking to Aisha and I, "Hello ladies, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Joe. Robb has spoken nothing but good about you two." he said.

I turned my full attention on the Asian man in front of me. I politely put my hand out and shook his hand before Aisha reached out and did the same, "Likewise," we replied simultaneously.

Joe looked slightly surprised but Robb chuckled, "I've spent quite a bit of time over the past few days. They tend to do that a lot." he said.

"Do not!" Aisha and I replied at the same time. Surprised, we looked at each other and glared.

I heard a deep laugh from behind me, "Are you sure you two aren't twins in disguise?" The voice was smooth and alluring, at least to me anyways. Others might not think so, but I definitely did. I had heard that voice many times over the television, but hearing it in person was even better.

Turning around, I already knew who had spoke, but I couldn't stop myself from looking at him anyways. I flashed Dustin a cheesy grin. If it was possible, the smirk that he was already wearing grew even larger. "We're sure that we aren't." I replied. "We're from totally different parents. Plus, we don't look alike at all." I retorted.

He smirked once more.

"Dustin," he said, holding out his hand in introduction.

I thought with a sigh, '_I know_…'

I placed my tiny hand in his much larger one and almost died at the contact. His hand was warm and fit nearly perfectly in mine. I couldn't believe that I was actually here, talking to my favorite of the GHI crew. Aisha's had been Barry, which was obviously why she had been so embarrassed with hitting him with the door.

"Mercedes," I replied.

"I look forward to investigating with you," Dustin said with a genuine smile.

I nodded, "Me too."

We were brought out of our own little world when Aisha reached out her hand and shook Dustin's. They greeted each other and said their hellos. Aisha turned to me and flashed me a large grin, a '_I-know-you-think-that-Dustin's-really-hot_' grin. I blushed and turned away from Aisha and Dustin, instead I looked at Robb.

"So, now what?" I asked him.

Robb laughed heartily, "Well, after that extremely entertaining introduction, I must say that was the best thing I've seen since Barry wiped out on that tree branch." Robb teased.

Barry rolled his eyes, "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

Robb shook his head, "Nope." he said seriously. Aisha and I giggled while Joe and Dustin full out laughed at Barry's face, which was completely priceless. "But seriously, you guys all know the case already. I know Aisha and Mercedes have been reading over that info on the prison like crazy the last few days so they're all prepped." Robb continued.

Joe nodded, "Us too, we were talking about it on the ride here." he said.

"Yeah, that _long_ and very _exhausting_ drive," Dustin replied.

Barry snorted, "Dustin, you didn't even drive. I did."

Dustin shrugged with a smirk on his face, "I hate long drives." he replied.

"Well, are the vans all packed?" Robb asked, changing the subject.

Barry nodded, "Sure are." he replied.

"Okay, well set up could take a few hours and I'm not sure how long the tour might take so we should probably head over their now." Robb explained. "I hope everyone got enough sleep." he said, looking pointedly at Aisha and I.

"Hey," Aisha replied. "We went straight to bed like good little girls." she said, slightly sarcastically.

Robb patted her arm and looked between Aisha and I, "What are we going to do with you two?" he said. "I think you're going to fit in just fine with us."

"I second that!" Joe said with a laugh.

"Me too," Barry replied, staring at Aisha.

'_What's up with that_?' I wondered. '_Could Barry possibly like Aisha or something_?' I thought with a giggle. '_That'd be rich. Aish would have a fit_!'

Dustin looked at me and smirked, "Me too."

'_Oh my_,' I thought, my thoughts going wild.

I felt another pat to my shoulder, "Okay Mercedes, you and Aisha are riding with Dustin and I. Barry and Joe are in the other van with all our equipment." he said.

"Alrighty," I replied. "Sounds like a plan."

The six of us left the hotel room and started towards the vans which were parked outside. As we stepped outside, I watched as Dustin slipped a pair of black plastic sunglasses on his face. I laughed, they looked really cheesy to me. When he saw me looking, he smiled at me shyly. _'What happened to those confident smirks from inside?_' I wondered silently. I reached inside my purse and pulled out my favorite pair of dark pink colored _Gucci_ sunglasses. I placed them over my eyes and turned to grin at Dustin. He grinned back as we made our way to the van.

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_**Penny for your thoughts? Leave a review please!**_


	3. WG: Part 3 of 7

**Authors Note:**_ Well, here is chapter three :) Only four more chapters to go for this investigation. The next ones will be alot longer than this though because I really did want to go into some detail on the investigations that the team would go on. Let me tell you, I studied the actual 'Wicklow's Gaol' episode really hard so I could get the investigation perfect for you guys :) So I hope I did it justice. Well, enjoy and please leave a review. I'd love to know what you guys think about the characters, the investigation itself and everything :) Also, don't forget to check out my Livejournal :) Feel free to add me, unless you found this BECAUSE you have already added me, lol. _

_Peace,_

_- RIP._

**EDIT**_: There are references to the episode_ 'Leap Castle' _in Season Three of_ Ghost Hunters_. To watch this episode on Youtube, check out my profile for the link :) Make sure to sort them by title before you watch them though, or else they will be out of order...I can't figure out how to make them go in order yet :( It's my favorite episode of GH so make sure to check it out!_

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**PLAYLIST:**

_Three Days Later_

- by -

FM Static

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**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow's Gaol: Part 3 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland. April 2009**_ -

I followed Robb the rest of the way to the van and once he unlocked the car, I slipped into the seat behind him while Dustin got into the passenger's seat and Aisha sat in the seat behind him. Robb looked at us from the rear view mirror, "Are you excited ladies?" he asked

Aisha looked and each other and grinned, "Most definitely." We replied at the same time wearing twin grins.

"That's creepy." Dustin said, looking between Aisha and I. "But something I'll undeniably have to get used to." he said.

Robb snorted, "It doesn't get any better, trust me. It just gets creepier."

Pulling out of the hotel parking lot, a wave of butterflies burst in my stomach. Meeting the rest of the team had been fun and I could tell right off the bat that we weren't going to have any problems getting along with them. Our personalities seemed to mesh well. But I was nervous about the investigation. I was nervous that I would chicken out, or I would do something completely wrong. This was my first big investigation in a truly haunted location. Sure, I investigated haunted houses before, but they never had a lot of huge activity, maybe an EVP or a shadow person here and there. The reports at Wicklow topped all the cases I had been on put together.

'_Oh well._ _So far, so good_. _I just have to make sure I don't screw anything up tonight_.' I thought.

I watched out the window of the van, mesmerized by the beauty of the countryside. It was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't believe that I was actually in _Ireland; _it had been a dream of mine for what seemed like ages. As we drove, Dustin and Robb chatted between themselves, occasionally adding Aisha and I into the conversation but for the most part, the ride was quiet and uneventful. I caught Dustin turning around to look at me a few times, but other than that. Nothing really happened.

After a little while, Robb pulled up the walkie-talkie that I had been curious to see as to when he would use it. He put it to his lips and started talking into it. It had to be more for the camera's that were attached to the van and the viewers than for all of us.

"It is absolutely fantastic to be here investigating in the gorgeous countryside of Ireland, guys!" Robb said into the walkie-talkie. As everyone can pretty much see, we have our two new team members, Mercedes and Aisha, who have joined us today for the investigation. It's absolutely wonderful to have them with us because they are two very solid investigators and I know they will do well for our team." He continued.

Robb had explained to us that after he did the introduction that Aisha and I had to say a little bit in return, he handed us the walkie and we took turns talking into it. It wasn't really necessary to talk into it thanking Robb since we were in the same car as Robb but we did it for Barry and Joe's sake, who were in a different vehicle. I went first, "Thanks so much Robb, I'm really looking forward to investigating with you guys. This is an amazing opportunity and you guys are already so amazing. I'm really exciting." I said.

I handed the walkie to Aisha, "Like Mercedes said, this is going to be very good practice for the two of us and we can't thank you guys enough for letting us join the team. You guys have been very welcoming and you're making this experience all the better." she said.

Barry's voice came through the walkie shortly after, "Well it's great to have you two ladies here with us today. It's great to have you as a part of the team and we look forward to working with you tonight. Just get ready for one hell of a ride." he said.

Aisha blushed slightly, staring at the walkie-talkie. I rolled my eyes, taking it from her and handing it back to Robb, knowing that introductions involving Aisha and I were over. I was glad that Robb had went through the low-down with Aisha and I the day before, letting us know what to expect. The cameras were hidden, so I wasn't sure exactly where they were shooting and when they were shooting, which really helped me relax.

Robb took the walkie eagerly and began talking once more, "Well we have a pretty big investigation planned for tonight." Robb then went on to explain the entire investigation to 'us' even though since we already knew everything we needed to know about the case, he was doing it more for the viewers. I listened as Robb talked about the Wicklow's Gaol and was surprised when Barry chimed in.

"In regards to the famine, I understand that some of the folks used to commit crimes just so that they could go to the jail to be fed. There are stories of people robbing corpses on the side of the road and others eating on the corpses." Barry explained. Aisha and I exchanged disgusted looks, "It was a very harsh time back then, you know."

"That's really awful," Joe said through the walkie. I assumed that the Barry's walkie picked up his words because they were kind of faint when he spoke.

Robb laughed before he went on to explain what kind of activity occurred at the jail from noises, footsteps and bangs to sightings of apparitions and being pushed, touched and shoved, which in my mind was the most frightening of all kinds of activity. From what I could tell, the place seemed pretty active, if not a little terrifying. I wasn't afraid of the paranormal, but I wasn't so keen on the dark—which sounded stupid since I was a paranormal investigator who did almost all of her investigations _in_ the dark. It wasn't that I was necessarily afraid, it was more like I was uncomfortable, especially when I was alone.

"It's pretty spread out, so I think we really have our work cut out for us tonight," Robb said, pulling me from my thoughts. He looked at Dustin, "But, I am really looking forward to it."

I saw Dustin nod before I heard him reply, "Absolutely, it's going to be awesome."

It was quiet for a while as Aisha and I resumed watching out the window until suddenly Dustin exclaimed, "Holy crap!"

"Woah," Robb seconded. "There is certainly no mistaking that."

"That's definitely the prison." Dustin replied.

Aisha and I looked out the front window and gasped as we looked at the jail in front of us. It was absolutely huge, but in a way beautiful. It was completely made from rocks, and had metal warded windows and gates. I couldn't believe I was going to hunting ghosts in that tonight.

As if hearing my thoughts Dustin turned around, "You're going to be investigating that tonight." He pointed his index finger towards the jail. "Excited?" he asked me.

I grinned, "You don't even know." I said, unbuckling my seatbelt and scrambling out of the car to get a better look.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped out was the camera crew that was recording my every move. I suddenly became a little camera shy, but not nearly as much as I would have been if I wouldn't have been partially distracted by the beauty of the jail. Most people wouldn't call a jail beautiful, but the architecture on this thing was amazing. It reminded me of a small castle in a way.

Robb and Dustin were obviously amused by my enthusiasm and before I knew it the four of us were joined by Barry and Joe. We all looked at the jail in wonder. Before long, Robb turned to Dustin and Barry, "Well come on guys, let's start the tour." He looked at Joe, Aisha and myself, "You guys can start unloading equipment. We'll be back before long and we'll start set up then. After you're done, you guys can just hang out until we get back." he instructed.

We nodded and watched as the three enter the jail, the camera crew following them which left Joe, Aisha and myself here to just sit around while the other guys were on the tour. Aisha got straight to it as she rubbed her hands together, "Okay Joe, what do we do first?"

Joe laughed, "You're quite the eager one, huh?" he asked her.

I shook my head, "Nah, she just had a Red Bull stuffed in her purse earlier and I caught her drinking it on the way up." I teased.

Aisha scowled at me but Joe just smiled and laughed. He seemed like a really easy going and cheerful kind of guy. I decided that Joe was pretty nice like the rest of the team. I could easily see them becoming like a second family to me like Aisha already was.

"No I didn't have a Red Bull," Aisha finally said. "I'm just nervous and need to do something with my hands." she said, fidgeting slightly.

"Well," Joe replied, walking over to the van that he and Barry had been riding in and opened up the trunk doors, "You can help me out by bringing some of this equipment out of the van. We won't take it inside yet until Robb tells us but we can start unloading it so it will be quicker for the other guys to come and grab it and put it where we're going to put command central." Joe explained.

I nodded, "Sure, sounds easy enough."

Joe shook his head, "Aisha, why don't you get in the van and hand the stuff to Mercedes and I." he suggested.

Aisha grinned, "Sure thing Joe." she hopped inside the van. The first thing she grabbed was a heavy black case. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"This thing is heavy," she replied as she heaved the thing over to the edge of the van where Joe grabbed it and moved it with ease. She stared at him in astonishment while Joe just shrugged, "It's computer equipment, did you expect it to be light as a feather?" he asked slightly sarcastically.

"No…" she replied, looking down at the van. In that moment, Aisha seriously almost like a puppy who had just got scolded by its owner.

"I know it's heavy at first," Joe said. "But you'll get used to it."

Aisha nodded in response as she went and grabbed another one of the cases and handed it to me. I grunted at the weight of the thing. I now knew that Aisha was _not _exaggerating when she said that the equipment cases were freaking heavy—because they were. They were very heavy. I just hoped that what Joe said was true and I would get used to the weight in time.

"I'm going to get some decent biceps out of this." Aisha sang happily, her enthusiasm back.

I giggled, "Careful, you don't want to get man arms or anything."

Aisha shuddered in response while Joe piped in, "What's wrong with man arms?"

I reached over and patted his arm, "We have a lot to teach you, my friend." I said playfully.

After Joe, Aisha and I had successfully gotten all the equipment out of the van, the three of us sat in the back of it and chatted for a while, trying to get to know each other more. I hadn't really had a chance to talk to Joe very much so I decided to take the opportunity now. Joe asked me and Aisha what I life was like back home. We told him about Whitefield and our apartment. We also told him about my photography business and our little paranormal group. He seemed genially interested in what we were saying and I eventually deemed Joe as a very good listener.

Aisha and I also asked Joe about his life in return. He happily told us about what it was like being on the road all the time but he also told us about his life back home, his hobbies and before long we were sitting around, talking and joking as if we had known each other for years. When Robb, Dustin and Barry exited the jail with the cameras, we were having a random discussion about our favorite types of food, which had actually gotten me craving food I didn't even know that I wanted.

"Well, I see you guys are getting along good," Robb said.

Joe nodded, "You picked two great girls, Robb. These two are hilarious."

Robb laughed, "Tell me about it. They know how to keep you on your toes."

At that point, the camera men decided that filming us was much more interesting than filming the jail so Robb started instructing us where to put equipment. Barry explained to us that we were going to be using IR Camera's on this case and then enlightened us on how they helped get better evidence. Of course Aisha and I already knew what they did, we were _GHI_ fans after all, but we didn't tell Barry that since he seemed to be quite happy prattling about his prized tech equipment.

Not to my surprise, Aisha decided that she was going to go with Barry to set up the cameras and then Joe left to go set up some wireless audio recorders in a couple of the cells which left me, Dustin, and Robb to set up the computers in command central. At first, Robb told me about some of the claims that the woman had talked about on the tour since I didn't actually go on the tour. I was amazed at some of the things he told me about, especially this mist that the woman said had followed a man down the stairs. It would be amazing if we could catch something like that on film. After he finished talking about that, I had to watch carefully as Robb showed me how they put together the computers that they used to monitor the cameras. He was in the middle of a long explanation when his walkie went off and Barry's voice came over the speaker.

"Barry, what's up?" Robb asked.

There was a click and then Barry spoke, "We need you to come up here to where Aisha and I are setting up the cameras."

"Why?" Robb asked, confused as he scratched his head slightly.

"Just come up here," Barry said cryptically.

Robb sighed and turned to me and Dustin. "Dustin, finish setting up the computers, I have to go see what's wrong."

Robb left the command central quickly, disappearing through a set of doors that led to where the prison cells were located. With me and Dustin being alone in the room together, I felt slightly awkward. I didn't have Aisha or Robb to lean up on and now I was one on one with someone who was practically a total stranger to me but also someone who I thought was unbelievably cute.

A camera man came over to where Dustin was setting up the camera and started filming Dustin's work, and my reactions. I tried to not act shy and nervous but I knew I was being camera shy. I hoped that this was one of the only times that this would happen and that I would get used to camera men running around me, filming everything I did all the time in the near future.

After the camera man was satisfied with his shots, he left the room, leaving Dustin and I alone again. Dustin stopped what he was doing and turned to me, looking concerned, "Are you alright?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm just kind of nervous."

Dustin looked confused, "About the prison?"

I shook my head, "No, not really that. It's more the cameras. I'm not really used to them." I explained.

He nodded in understanding, "I was the same way," he told me. "When I first started, I got camera shy really bad and the first episode I was in on _Ghost Hunters_ they had to take a lot of my frames out because I was fidgeting and looked like a scared puppy all the time, or at least that's what Jason told me." Dustin laughed, obviously getting caught in a memory. When he finally caught my gaze, his eyes were burning, "You'll get used to it though, just like you'll get used to us."

"I am used to you guys, you guys are great. Honestly, I was scared that you guys were going to hate us, especially after Aisha hit Barry with the door." I told Dustin.

To my surprised, Dustin laughed out loud, "Why? That was hilarious. I don't even think he really cared, he thought it was pretty funny actually. Besides, Barry seems to really like you guys." he paused. "I like you guys too."

I blushed and just at that moment, Robb returned, successfully interrupting our moment.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" I asked him, forgetting all about mine and Dustin's previous conversation.

Robb nodded, "Yeah, they had some questions about the cameras and apparently Aisha got touched while she was up there. Something started tugged on her jacket. She handled it very well though, I'm proud of her."

I smiled, that definitely sounded like Aisha. She was always better at handling unseen things touching her than I was. When I looked over at Dustin, he was shuddering slightly, "What?" I asked.

He frowned, "I hate it when they touch you."

"Why?"

"Leap castle." Dustin replied simply.

I wracked my brain of all the episodes of _Ghost Hunters_ and _GHI_ that I had watched in the past. When Leap Castle came to mind, I remembered a castle in Ireland that was haunted. I replayed parts of the episode in my mind and then remembered that was where Dustin was thrown on the ground by some unseen force. I guess it really had spooked him, especially if it still freaked him out today.

"Oh," I said simply.

It wasn't long after that, that Barry, Aisha and Joe returned. Aisha looked abnormally happy about something, which was something I would confront her about later, but not right now. I watched, entranced, as Barry and Dustin began doing some more work on the computers. I was completely at loss at what to do so I just decided to stand back and watch. Not too long afterwards, Dustin stepped back and stood beside me as Barry started speaking.

"I'd like to show you all the camera angles now, so that we can lock them down." Barry said.

Robb replied, "Sounds great, what do we have?"

Barry pointed to the first square of four on the largest silver computer screen "This is camera one, it's a full spectrum camera. We want to capture that mist that was formed near that stair well." Everyone nodded or voiced murmurs of approval so he went on, "Camera two is down in the schoolroom where there are reports of a little child dressed in rags. Camera number four is specifically set up so that we can get the entire prison floors." It didn't escape my attention how Barry didn't mention camera three but as I looked at the screen, it seemed as if it was just getting parts of the prison floor.

"Sounds great Barry," Robb said. "Well first, myself and Dustin will do a quick thermal sweep and then Barry can bring Aisha and Mercedes in to investigate," he paused for a moment, "Actually Dustin, you can join them too if you want."

Dustin grinned, "Great."

"Joe and I will just leave the building and let you guys have run of the place. Dustin and Barry you can each take one of the girls and split up. One can go to the upper floors and the other group can do the lowers floors or whatever works." Robb instructed. "Now, we'll just go lights out and get to work."

Everyone nodded or voiced their agreements and everyone split up to do lights out. Afterwards, Aisha and I left the building and went to sit out in the van with Barry and Joe to wait for Dustin and Robb to return. I was quite so Barry started speaking, "Are you two excited?" he asked.

Aisha responded first, "Very much so," she said.

"But also nervous," I replied.

Aisha nodded in agreement, "That too."

"Don't worry girls, we won't let any harm come to either of you," he told us both seriously.

When I looked over at Aisha, I thought she was seriously about to start swooning at his words. I almost started laughing the held it back. I wasn't the only one who noticed because when I looked over at Joe, he darted his eyes between Barry and Aisha and raised his eyebrows in question. I did a nonchalant shrug because honestly, I had no idea what had happened. I would have to ask her about it later.

We sat down in the van resumed our food conversation with Joe, this time Barry joined in and he told us about all sorts of amazing restaurants that he thought that we should visit while we were in Ireland. I was amazed at all the places he named off that he had been to but I had to remind myself that Barry lived here in Ireland, so obviously he would know all the best places to go and eat and hang out.

"Hey guys," Robb's voice called out to us, startling us all. We all kind of jumped so Dustin and Robb laughed a little at that before things turned serious. The butterflies came back full force as Robb looked from Dustin, to myself, to Aisha to Barry. "You four can go inside now. Be careful." he said.

We nodded and set off for inside the jail.

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_**Review? Please?**_


	4. WG: Part 4 of 7

**Authors Note**: _So, first off I'd like to thanks all of those on here and on LJ who have been supporting my writing. I actually got alot of reviews last time I posted and let me tell you, it's great that you guys are enjoying the story (even though some of you haven't even watched GHI or GH before. It means alot to me that you'll still read them for me!) Okay, now I have a couple of readers who weren't familiar with GH or GHI, so for them I posted a special thing on my profile explaining the equipment used in the story and in GHI/GH. :) There is also a section on my website for it to, the only difference is that the one of my website has pictures of the equipment, so check them out if you want :) I'd love it if you did. Now, here is the first chapter of the investigation. I really liked writing this chapter so I hope you enjoy reading it :) No without further talking from me, here is chapter four!_

_- RIP._

_

* * *

_

**PLAYLIST:**

_Run Don't Walk_

- by -

Hey Monday

(**_LOVE this song! Take a listen_**!)

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 4 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

The four of us slowly entered the pitch black jail with mini-DV's or flashlights in our hands, or in Barry's case, a full spectrum camera stand. As soon as we entered the jail, I was shocked. The jail seemed much creepier when it was pitch black. I hadn't been in something this dark in a while. It was pitch black and you really couldn't trust your eyes not to see things. You really did need your fellow investigators and flashlight to navigate around in the darkness. As we walked forward into the jail, I knew there was a camera following behind us and soon it would swivel around in front of us to capture our front sides instead of our backs the entire time.

I stiffened slightly at the thought. Dustin, who was beside me, noticed this and asked me about it, "The cameras?" he asked in a whisper that was barely audible to my ear.

I nodded quietly.

I felt him move closer to me as we walked. When the camera moved around to start filming some of the architecture like the ceilings and cells of the place, Dustin wrapped one of his arms around me. To say I was shocked was an understatement. I heard his deep voice very low in my ear, "Just relax." he breathed smoothly. "It's just a camera, no reason to freak out."

"I feel stupid," I whispered.

"Why?"

I replied, "I'm afraid of the cameras and I'm on a reality TV show."

Dustin chuckled, extra quietly in my ear. I felt his hot breath slide down my neck slightly and shivered. He must have taken it that I was cold or something because he tightened his arm slightly, "At least you aren't afraid of the ghosts or dark."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I really wasn't fond of the darkness.

"Just focus on the investigation and navigating through this place safely. I don't want you getting lost now." he said.

I nodded and when I did, he quietly took his arm away from my body. Suddenly, I felt cold wash all over me, especially where his arm had just been. It was as if I missed his body heat. I was going insane. I wasn't here to fawn all over Dustin, I was here to investigate the prison and impress Robb. Dustin would only distract me. Besides, I didn't even know the guy and obviously, maybe I had a tiny crush on him from watching the show, but that didn't mean that anything could actually happen now. I needed to just forget about him and focus on doing a good investigation.

"This place certainly does have a feeling to it, doesn't it?" Barry said as he looked around.

I nodded in reply but it was Dustin's voice that answered, "Definitely."

When we entered the main floor of the prison, the first thing I did was shine my mini-DV's light around, so that I could get a better view of the place. My eyes had gotten somewhat used to the dark and I was able to see a little clearer now than I had earlier, "This is incredible." I whispered.

"I know!" Aisha whispered back from right next to me.

I heard a throat clear and then I heard Dustin's voice, "Well, Barry how about you three stay here for a little bit. I want to check out solitary and it'll probably be better if someone goes alone. I'll come back up in a little bit." he said.

Barry replied, "Yeah, I can handle these two for now."

"Good luck to you," Dustin said as I heard his footsteps walking away.

Suddenly we heard noises coming from the upstairs floor, like someone messing or running around up there. We all froze and because I didn't hear any footsteps on the main floor, I assumed Dustin had either frozen as well or had already started downstairs.

"What was that, dude?" Dustin's voice echoed softly over to us.

'_Well, I guess that answers my question_,' I thought idly.

I shined my light, keeping it close to the floor and found Dustin was probably only ten feet away from us. He was staring at the three of us with wide eyes. Barry spoke finally, "It sounds like someone is upstairs…" he said.

The movements and footsteps continued so we followed the noises with our eyes and heads. I'm pretty sure I saw a camera man come right up to me but I was so focused on following the noises, that I barely noticed it.

"This is so weird," I whispered.

"Yeah it is." Barry replied quietly.

I tried to follow the noises with my mini-DV camera as best as I could. I really wanted to try and capture something if I could. I needed to stay focused. Barry stepped out from near the doorway and started over to where Dustin stood and started up at the upper floors. It was slightly comical watching the two of them. They moved their heads at the same time in the same direction. When I looked over at Aisha to point it out to her, she had the same expression on her face as I had when I was watching them so I figured that she must have noticed it to.

'_Focus_!' My mind hissed.

I turned my attention back to my mini-DV and started following the noises again. The camera man decided to take the opportunity to do a few interviews with each of us. Robb had explained early on that if something was to happen while the camera men were recording, they were take shots of us talking about our personal experiences. I found myself stuttering slightly through my interview but at least I made sense, so I was quite proud of myself.

"Dustin?" Barry finally addressed after all the interviews had been done.

"Yeah?"

"You can go ahead and start investigated the confinement cell. I think we'll be alright up here." Barry told him.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dustin nod and heard his foot steps as he made his way to the stairs. Part of me wanted to follow him for two reasons, one: I liked investigating with him so far and didn't really want him to leave us yet and two: the confinement cell sounded interesting.

I turned my eyes back to Barry just as he pulled out an EMF meter from his pocket and placed it on the ground. He then pulled out a wireless audio recorder and sat it up above one of the doors.

"Barry, Aisha and Mercedes. EVP Session on the first floor." He backed away slowly from the recorder and came to stand next to Aisha, who was already closest to him. "We mean you no harm whatsoever. We all understand that a lot of you are here from the 70th and 90th rebellion. You were fighting for Ireland. We understand what you are going through. We understand what you were up against when you were in this prison. Now we ask that you come to us. Please speak with us. We just want to talk." he said. Barry paused every once and a while between statements and questions, hoping to get a response but so far we hadn't got any but, we had the wireless audio on so there was always the chance we could catch an EVP.

Aisha spoke and when she did, she sounded a little upset, "Something feels, bad here. Like…" she trailed off. "I can't even describe it. It just feels horrible."

The floor was dark and seemed almost never-ending with prison doors, making the hallway seem even longer than what it actually was. The spiral staircase at the end was just barely visible to my eye because our lights couldn't reach that far away. I jumped slightly when I thought I saw something shift in the darkness. I blinked, thinking that my eyes were playing tricks on me but when I looked over towards the staircase at the end of the floor again, this time I gasped slightly. There was no denying it now. My eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Something was moving, and it wasn't Dustin because he had been gone for a long time. There at the end of the long black corridor, was a shadow figure that was moving.

"I think I just saw something…" I heard Barry mutter.

I turned to look at him, "By the staircase?" I asked.

He nodded.

"I saw it too." I replied quietly.

Barry started moving towards the staircase and Aisha and I followed him. As I started walking, I started feeling a pounding sensation in my ear. It was the kind that muffled the sound, especially when you were driving through places of high elevation. It felt…clogged.

"My ear feels kind of, clogged." I whispered.

Aisha looked at me, "Are you okay?" she asked.

I nodded, "I'm fine, it just, feels weird."

We kept walking for a few more meters. We were very disappointed when we reached the spiral staircase to find absolutely nothing there. There wasn't anything, no shadows, nothing. It hadn't taken us that long to make our way over to where we had seen the shadow, so whatever had been there had to have moved very fast because it was gone in literally a blink of an eye.

"Is there someone in here with us?" Aisha asked slowly. "Can you please talk with us?"

Barry must have heard something because he walked over to one of the prison cells and started to look inside of it. I started to follow him when I saw Aisha grab her chest slightly and a grimace appeared on her face. "Okay, I never really go by feelings but my chest really hurts right now." she whispered to me.

I heard Barry come up to us, he sounded concerned, "Your chest hurts?" he asked.

Aisha nodded, "Yes, it's almost has if it's really hard to breath."

Barry fumbled with his pockets and pulled out some sort of other high tech gadget, "We need to check the barometric pressure." he said. "When the barometric pressure is low, it can cause the spirits to become more active. It's then they are able to touch us…or push us." he said solemnly. "We use all sorts of weather stations and such to measure this pressure."

Barry placed the object on the floor and then crouched down to look at it closer. Aisha and I followed his movements, trying to look at the meter as well. We watched as he looked and messed with the gadget for a while before sighing softly, "The pressure if holding steady."

As soon as the words were from his mouth, a loud band sounded from down the hall. It was quickly followed by a few more bangs. Barry stood back up while Aisha and I still sat crouched on the ground. "Do you hear that?" Aisha whispered.

Barry nodded, "Do you think it's Dustin?" he asked.

Aisha and I both shrugged.

Barry looked like he was thinking about something before he finally said, "Mercedes, would you go down and find Dustin and ask him if he is making those noises, or at least if he hears them?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Sure."

I handed Aisha my mini-DV and she handed me her flashlight in return. I walked down the staircase that I had watched Dustin go down and walked down the hallway. I didn't have any camera men with me at the time. The camera man who had with us was still up on the main floor with Aisha and Barry. The flashlight Aisha had given me was really small, and didn't offer me much light at all. As I descended down the stairs, I found myself in a hallway. Assuming that the solitary cell was at the end of the empty hallway, I started down it.

I heard a few more bangs and taps but couldn't seem to figure out where they were coming from. Because I couldn't really see, the obscurity from the dark was completely disorienting for me. The sounds seemed to be coming from all around me and every time I turned to look in the way of the sound, I felt like I was going in the wrong direction. As if it was a maze and was trying it's hardest to confuse me. I decided to temporarily forget about the sounds and focus on getting through the hallway and to the solitary confinement cell to find Dustin. The gloom of the hallway seemed to consume me, it was as if the darkness was overcoming my small source of light that I had with me. It frightened me, as I really didn't like the dark.

Suddenly, my worst nightmare became true. My flashlight started flickering and went out completely on me. A small squeak of protest came from my mouth, but there wasn't anything else I could do about it. The air around me started getting really thick. The whole hallway seemed to be getting longer and longer, I couldn't see the end of it because it was so dark.

When I ran into something solid, I had to use every inch of my self control within me not to scream bloody murder. I was pretty frightened. I wasn't scared walking down the dark hallway, more like I was really creeped out. But, when I ran into a solid mass, I jumped and squealed in surprise. It wasn't loud, but whatever was in front of me heard me.

I jumped back a few feet to get away from what was in front of me. I couldn't speak so I couldn't figure out what it was. I now understood why it was usually advised now to investigate alone and to bring extra equipment. I knew that the odds of the thing in front of me being a ghost that would harm me was slim, but I couldn't rule out the possibility.

"Hello?" I heard a voice asked.

I nearly sighed in relief.

"Dustin?" I whispered.

I heard a large gust of air, "Mercedes?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. I walked forward and ended up running into him again. I guess he was walking towards me when I had been walking towards his direction. I stumbled slightly, not expecting the impact at hitting him. I felt hands shoot out to steady me just as I reached out to catch myself. When they did, a pair of hands landed right on my hips while I grabbed on to a pair of shoulders.

I heard Dustin chuckle really close to my ear, "Mercedes, you freaked me out so bad. I had no idea what I had just run in to." he whispered. "Why are you walking around here alone and without a flashlight?" Dustin asked sternly, I didn't need to see his face to know he was frowning at me.

"Barry sent me down to find you. We were hearing noises and we needed to know if it was you or not. As for my flashlight, I have one," Since my hands were still lightly pressed on his shoulder, I used the hand that my flashlight was in and I touched his neck with it. "But it died on me." I explained. "What are you doing out here?" I asked him.

"I—I heard the noises to, I thought it was you guys upstairs. I was going to come ask Barry if it was you guys or not. I didn't even think about grabbing a flashlight." he said nervously.

"Oh," I said. I looked around and didn't see or sense anyone else was with us. "Where is your camera man?"

"Outside maybe, he shut off the cameras for a bit because it was messing up and he couldn't figure out why. He said he was going to go back outside to Robb and find out what happened to it and then do some interviews or something of that nature." Dustin explained.

The air around us cooled even more and the air of my neck stood up slightly. For some reason this deep sadness overwhelmed me and I felt unprotected, as if someone else was there with us—uninvited. I shivered and when I did, I felt Dustin's hands tighten on my waist slightly. I stepped closer to him until my chest was pressed against his. I heard his breath deepen. It was heavier, as if he was taking gasps of air more often. Was he as nervous and fearful right now as I was of an unseen presence? Or was he nervous about our close proximity to each other?

A loud bang sounded from behind us, it couldn't have been more than a few feet. When I heard a shuffling sound close after I jumped closer to Dustin, if it was even possible to be any closer. Normally I wouldn't be afraid of the unseen, but I was in a pitch dark prison without a source of light and the only other thing with me was Dustin.

"Did you hear that?" I breathed out, once again, barely audible.

I felt Dustin nod against my head. I hadn't realized that he had shuffled closer so that his head was right next to mine. We were so close and I couldn't figure out why and how it had happened. It was like we just kept pushing ourselves closer and closer together because of some magnetic form around us. Maybe it was because of the total darkness that a close proximity with another human being, no matter who they were, would make you feel safer. But what I didn't understand was why Dustin would be frightened. He had been part of GHI for over a year and part of _TAPS_ for years before that. Why would he be afraid of the darkness that seemed to literally be alive and surrounding us? Wasn't he used to things like this happening?

"Is that your camera man?" I asked.

"I don't think so." Dustin replied. "Gavin?" He called out.

I guessed that he had called out the camera mans name. We were still to far away from the confinement cell for him to hear unless he was in the hallway with us. Obviously he wasn't or else he would have answered Dustin, which he didn't. There wasn't any possible way that it could have been the camera man anyways because the noises had been coming from behind me, which was the opposite direction that Dustin and Gavin had been.

I decided I needed to pull myself together and stop acting like a child about the entire situation. I took my hands away from Dustin's shoulders and brought them down to his hands, which still clung lightly to my waist. I put my hands lightly over his and pulled them away from my body and put them back at Dustin's side. Then, I slowly turned around, but still kept my proximity close. It was now my back that was straight against Dustin's chest. I could here his chest pounding and felt him take a large breath of air.

"Who's there?" I asked in a shaky whisper. "Are you trying to get our attention?"

Dustin seemed to follow my lead, "Is there someone else out here with us tonight?"

When we got no answer I took a couple steps closer in the direction that I had heard the shuffling. I felt an extreme coldness at my back and realized that my body was reacting to not being pressed up against Dustin. I wasn't retaining someone else's body heat now. For the first time that entire night, I finally realized how cold the prison was and wished that I had brought another jacket. The prison was practically _freezing_. I felt myself shivering slightly. I wasn't sure if it was from the cool air or from my nerves. I had a long sleeved t-shirt under my magenta sweater with a lightweight peacoat jacket over that. The other guys had large, heavy jackets on them while Aisha and I had our flimsy jackets. It was probably going to be a mistake that we didn't make again. But then again, they say that you always learn from your mistakes.

"I really wish my flashlight hadn't died on me," I muttered.

"I can go get one?" Dustin replied.

I nodded but then realized that he couldn't see me, it was too dark. "Okay."

I didn't really want Dustin to leave me alone in the dark corridor but I figured that he wouldn't be gone that long, so I really didn't have anything to worry about. I kept telling myself that spirits rarely actually hurt people. The incident with Dustin at Leap Castle had been a rare case, plus he had been provoking. I wasn't provoking anything. I was trying to be calm and polite with the spirit, or whatever it was that was in the passageway with me.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around my body. "Can you please show me a sign that lets me know that you are here?"

Out of no where, my neck started to feel really cold, as if someone was breathing on it. "Dustin, don't do that." I whispered. When I didn't hear an answer right away, I turned around, expecting it to be Dustin. But I was shocked to see that there was nothing behind me and the only light in the hallway was coming from nearly thirty feet away from me and it was gradually getting closer to me. I knew that the light source was Dustin and he wasn't anywhere near me.

'_So what was just breathing down my neck_?' I wondered.

When Dustin finally reached me, he had two lights. One was a flashlight and the other was a mini-DV. "I figured we could try and catch something—like work with EVP's or something." he told me, handing me one of the flashlights.

"But, Barry and Aisha are waiting for us on the main floor." I told him. "If I don't come back, they might think something happened." I reasoned.

Dustin sighed, "Okay, we'll go talk to them. Then me and you can investigate down here and check out solitary confinement some more."

We started walking down the corridor towards the staircase that I had descended not long before. When we reached the staircase we could hear slight murmurings coming from above. I assumed it was Barry and Aisha so I didn't think anything of it. We ascended the stairs and when we reached the staircase, I saw that Barry and Aisha were all the way on the other side of the main floor, on the complete opposite side of the staircase where Dustin and I were. The only other person with them was the camera man who had stayed on the main floor with them when I went to find Dustin. Could their voices carry that far? From what I could see, they were doing an EVP session by taking turns asking questions, trying to make contact with something. I dismissed my previous thoughts, deciding that it wasn't something I should bring up to Dustin unless he brought it up first.

Dustin and I started over to where Barry and Aisha were doing their session. When they saw us coming, they stopped asking questions and turned to us. The camera man turned and started filming us walking towards them. Dustin spoke, "Where you guys making loud noises, like banging stuff around or talking over by the staircase recently?" he asked.

Barry shook his head, "No, we've been over here. We thought it was you. I sent Mercedes down to check but we kept hearing the noises anyways. As for talking, we've been over here for the past ten minutes. I don't think that our voices could carry all the way down to the staircases." he replied.

"Were you hearing voices?" Aisha asked anxiously.

Dustin nodded, "When we were in the corridor, we heard bangs and something moving around with us but we couldn't find anything. When we got over to the staircase, I heard talking…I thought it was you two." he confessed. "I don't know if Mercedes heard them or not but…" I looked down at me by his side.

"I heard them," I admitted.

Barry rubbed his chin slightly, as if he was in thought, "That's very interesting. Do you think you caught anything with your camera?" he asked.

Dustin looked down at the ground and when I looked up at him, he looked a little sheepish. I wasn't sure, but I had a hunch that it was probably because we had only had a camera with us for less than five minutes. "Maybe," Dustin replied, looking away from Barry.

"Well, it wasn't us." Barry said seriously.

Dustin hummed slightly, like he was debating something. "We'll, I'm going back down and I think I'm going to take Mercedes with me. We're going to try and figure out what was going on in that corridor."

"Do you have all your equipment?" Barry asked.

I nodded, "I have mine."

"Mine's back in solitary." Dustin answered.

"Okay, well, luck be with you." Barry said.

"Thanks man," Dustin replied.

We both turned and started towards the staircase. I didn't even need to use my flashlight for a little while because the camera man decided to follow us for a little bit. He was filming us walking away and when he turned back to Barry and Aisha, the light disappeared, leaving Dustin and I in total darkness again.

We made it back down to the corridor but when we got to the middle, where we had run into each other just a little while before, the air felt completely normal. The unusual coldness was gone and the air didn't feel heavy anymore. I sighed and frowned, shining my flashlight around some more.

"It feels different now," I observed.

Dustin moved beside me, moving the camera around to film different parts of the hallway around us, "I know, it's like the heaviness if completely done."

I nodded fervently, "That's exactly what I was thinking. The air is lighter and the unusual coldness we had been feeling earlier is just…gone."

"Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. It just dissipated while we were upstairs." He said in a frustrated voice. "I think that whatever was here earlier is gone now. Let's go to solitary for a while."

"Sure." I replied.

We walked down the hallway quickly and when Dustin opened the door he let me go in first. I smiled at him in thanks as he said, "Back to the hole."

I held back my giggles and walked into the small room, trying to get a feeling for the place. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. It was small and felt very cramped, as if the air was just charged with electricity. The walls, floor and ceiling was all white with one black window at the far end of it. The whole place just screamed loneliness. I wouldn't have wanted to have been thrown in there if I was imprisoned when the jail was still running.

Dustin entered, closing the door behind him and walked over to where a few pieces of equipment were and sat down, leaning casually against the wall and spreading his long legs out in front of him. I sat down right across from him but out of the way of the door, as not to inadvertently get hit if someone were to open the door.

"EVP session continues, Dustin and Mercedes," Dustin started speaking, "in Solitary Confinement."

It was quite for a while as I looked around the room, waiting for Dustin to start asking questions. I wasn't sure how far he had already gotten in the session before he had run into me. I didn't want to re-ask questions that he had already done. I wasn't even sure exactly where the start on this case. How was I supposed to speak to a dead spirit who had died all alone simply because everyone had forgotten about him?

The sound of a prison door slamming caused Dustin and I to both look at the door. We were quiet for a moment before Dustin asked, "Are you responsible for the loud sound that we just heard outside this room? Are you closing doors to get our attention?"

I knew he wasn't speaking to me but to whatever we hoped was in the room with us. It was a little unnerving that whatever it was, you couldn't see it but it could see you, but I just tried to think of the spirit as an invisible person. It was just like anyone else except for that it had died in a tragic way while I was still alive and breathing.

Not getting any response, Dustin continued asking questions, "Could you possibly show yourself to my friend and I?" he asked. "Could you make yourself appear before me right now if you wanted to do so?" He paused again. "We hear that people get awkward feelings when they are in this cell with you. My friend and I don't, you don't scare us. We're only here to try and talk to you." He finished and then looked at me.

Taking the look as a signal for me to speak I asked, "Could you please give us a sign that you are here with us? We mean you no harm." I paused. "We just want to speak with you."

I heard a few taps before an unrecognizable sound came from the middle of the room, right between Dustin and I. My eyes widened and I looked at Dustin in surprise. He grinned and asked, "You heard that, didn't you?"

I nodded, "It sounded like…like a voice."

He agreed with me, smiling. I couldn't believe it, this was nothing compared to the investigations that I usually went on. Aisha and I usually found things close to nothing. But getting responses, out loud to questions I was asking, surprised me to no end. I was giddy and hoped that we had been able to catch something on one of the pieces of equipment Dustin had brought with him.

"We're you trying to talk to us just then?" I asked softly. "If it was, we heard you but we couldn't make out what you were saying. Could you please do it again for us?"

When I didn't get another response, I was slightly upset but I knew I couldn't get my hopes up too much. Besides, we had gotten one response, which was amazing in itself. I decided to stay silent for a few minutes and let Dustin asked some more questions.

"I can imagine that people don't come down here just to sit and talk with you very often. This could be your one and only chance to speak with something. We want to know who you are. Please let us know that you are here with us." Dustin stressed.

"We want to know what happened to you. We understand that you were lonely and we know that what happened to you was horrible." I said slowly. "Are you angry at the people who left you here, the ones who forgot about you?" I asked, I knew that what I was asking could possibly lead to something bad but I pressed on. "Are those people still here with you in the cell today?"

"My friend and I are leaving soon," Dustin said, this time looking at me before he turned his gaze to look around the room again, "This is your last chance to let us know that you are here with us, to tell us your story."

Still not getting any response, Dustin sighed heavily and leaned over beside him to grab the digital voice recorder that lay on the stone ground. "EVP session end, Dustin and Mercedes in solitary confinement," he said before shutting the small, silver piece of equipment off.

Dustin sat up and began picking up the equipment. I stood up to help him. I grabbed his mini-DV camera and handing it to him. He nodded in thanks, "Well, that was interesting." he said with a shy smile.

I nodded, "Yeah, it definitely was."

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**_So, what do you think of how I switched up the investigation a bit :) I hope you enjoyed it. Any thoughts? :) Please review!_**


	5. WG: Part 5 of 7

**Authors Note:** _Hey guys, sorry for the wait but life got in the way once again and I haven't been able to update when I wanted to :( Anyways, today was a slow day so I worked on editing this chapter just for all of you guys who have been reading this story. I want to thank you all - like a ton - because you guys have been great. I didn't expect such an amazing response :) So without any more talking, here is chapter five (: Only two more to go! In this investigation that is. Lol. There might be more in store for our characters if you are up for it. ;) Let me know what you think!_

_Happy Reading,_

_- RIP._

_

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**PLAYLIST:**

_I Want You_

- by -

Savage Garden

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**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 5 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

After leaving the solitary confinement cells, Dustin and I decided that it was time to take a break and retreat outside to the vans. But, before we headed outside, we shut down all our equipment and placed it at central command before going to find Robb and Joe. When we found them, they were trying to play a game of chess while sitting in the back of the equipment van. But from what I could see, the game wasn't getting anywhere as the two men were arguing instead of moving their chess pieces.

"Hey, aren't you two supposed to be working and not fooling around?" Dustin teased.

Both Robb and Joe jumped at the sound of Dustin's voice, obviously not expecting it. Robb looked between Dustin and I warily, "Are you two done already?" he asked.

Dustin shook his head, "We got some noises in the lower part of the jail but we figured it was about time to send you two in." he explained.

"Where are Barry and Aisha?" Robb asked.

"Last time we saw them they were still doing EVP sessions on the main floor." I told him.

Robb nodded, "Well alright, I might as well radio him and let him know that Joe and I are going in." he said. He looked between Dustin and I, "Be good kids." he teased.

"Yes sir," Dustin replied, smiling a childlike smile.

"Good luck," I called out.

Joe waved, "Thanks Mercedes!"

I settled back into the back of the van, staring at the jail in front of me in complete silence. I didn't really have anything to say. Dustin was standing directly in front of me, less than a foot away. He put his hands in his pockets and I heard something crinkle in the pocket on his right side. I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow in question before he pulled out a couple pieces of candy.

"Why do you have candy in your pocket?" I asked him.

Dustin shrugged and popped one of the pieces in his mouth before offering me on. I politely declined as he said, "I'm a bit of a candy-a-holic. I always have candy with me." he explained.

"I see," I said. I leaned over and rested my head against the side of it. Dustin plopped down next to me on the floor of the van, "Tired?" he asked.

I shook my head, "A little but not enough to fall asleep or anything." I confessed.

"Then what's bothering you?" he pressed.

I sighed, messing with my auburn hair before looking at him. He was looking back at me with trustful green eyes. I looked all around me in amazement, "Actually, all of this just seems so surreal. I'm with _GHI_, something that I have just dreamed about. I'm here in _Ireland _investigating a supposedly _haunted jail_ with _Dustin Pari_." I murmured. "It all seems like a dream. It's like I'm going to wake up and be sitting on my couch in the apartment in Whitefield after falling asleep watching GHI episodes with Aisha."

"You aren't dreaming," Dustin said with a light chuckle.

I frowned at him, "How do I know that for sure?" I asked seriously. "You could be a figment of my imagination because I had fallen asleep after seeing your face on my TV screen."

Dustin's mouth twitched, "Are you saying I'm boring?" he asked teasingly.

I shook my head, "No, that's not what I meant and you know it." I smacked his arm lightly. "People tend to dream about things that are familiar to them or something that happened to them recently. If someone is talking in the background, it can affect your subconscious and make your dreams preserve the information that you are hearing."

Dustin grabbed my hands, which had been flying around while I had been ranting. I had a tendency to talk with my hands when I got upset, nervous or was going on a rant of some kind. He took both my hands in his and calmly placed them back on my lap. When he saw that I wasn't going to rant anymore, he smiled at me and spoke in a calm voice, "Mercedes, you aren't dreaming. You are here investigating for real. And personally, I don't see what's so special about me that would make you dream about me, I'm just some guy who happens to be on a TV show." he said.

I almost started to blurt out the reasons why he _wasn't_ just some guy from a TV show but I stopped myself before I got the chance. I didn't want him thinking that I was some insane fan of his. Yes, I was a fan and yes, I thought he was amazingly cute but that didn't mean that he could ever like me as anything more than a fellow investigator. The thought made my heart sink slightly.

I looked down at our hands, which were still in my lap. He hadn't released my hands yet so that _had_ to mean something, right? I felt Dustin nudge me with his shoulder and I looked up. His bright green eyes focused on my dark blue ones, "We're going to be out here for a while…" he said, clearing his throat slightly and looking a little nervous even though I wasn't sure why on earth he was nervous. "Tell me about yourself."

I sighed, "My life is insanely boring." I told him.

Dustin shrugged, "Tell me anyways." he said. "I want to know more about you." I could tell by his smile and the way his eyes squinted slightly that he was being genuine.

I breathed in deeply and before long, I found myself spilling my guts to Dustin, telling him everything. I wasn't sure why but there was just something about him and made me just want to keep talking to him. I told him about myself and where I lived, I told him about my photography store I ran and told him about meeting Aisha and becoming best friends with her. I told him about my parents who thought that material things were the way to a child's heart. I explained to him that knew that they honestly meant well, but it did hurt sometimes. I told him about my punk of a little brother as well. He listened as I spoke, nodding his head in the appropriate places and sometimes interrupting to ask a quick questions. After a while we switched and he began talking to me, telling me about his life. He told me about his family, how he got where he had today and told me about all the places that he had been since joining GHI. I don't think he noticed but as he was talking, he kept holding my hands tightly in his and he started rubbing my palm slightly with his thumb. I couldn't keep the grin off my face and sighed happily at the contact. I enjoyed it very much.

We were so engrossed in our conversation that he didn't hear the others exit the jail until they were coming right up to us. I jumped and quickly ripped my hands away from Dustin's, hoping that no one saw. I wasn't sure how the other team members would feel about us holding hands. As I thought of that, I didn't even know if you were aloud to date other cast members. Robb had spoken about it but I didn't really pay attention to the details. I didn't think it would be a problem for me or Aisha but now I wasn't so sure, at least in my case. I was unsure if Dustin liked me, but after talking to him and investigating with him, I was beginning to see more than just a guy with gelled hair and a cute smile.

Barry was eyeing Dustin and I suspiciously and I wondered if maybe he had caught us. I blushed and turned my face away from his, hoping to god that he hadn't seen anything even thought it wasn't like we were ravishing each other in the back of the GHI van or anything. Thankfully, Barry didn't say anything while we were out in the open and I silently prayed that he wouldn't say anything to Dustin or I in private either.

Above all, I hoped that the camera men hadn't caught the exchange between Dustin and I either. That was probably the last thing that we needed was to film us being together like that. Even if we weren't together, rumors would fly like crazy and soon we would probably have a huge mess on our hands if the public was to find out.

Once Robb knew that he had everyone's attention, "Okay, how about Barry and Aisha take a break while the rest of us go back in."

"Who is paired with who?" Joe asked.

"I'll take Mercedes with me. And uhm, Joe and Dustin, why don't you two go together for now and then we'll switch off later." Robb suggested.

I frowned slightly. It wasn't that I didn't want to investigate with Robb or anything, because I did. I was actually pretty excited about finally getting to work with Robb and everything. But, if I was truly being honest with myself, the reason I was slightly upset was because I didn't want to leave Dustin just yet. I sounded overly pathetic and puppy dog-ish but I felt like we had only just started talking even though we had been together investigating and talking for probably three hours or more. It all seemed to have gone by so quickly.

When I looked up at Dustin, I saw him looking down at me with his eyebrows crunched together. I wondered if it was because he didn't like the idea either. But nonetheless, neither of us protested the ideas, we simply nodded in agreement. Robb led us back into the jail but once inside, he announced that we were going to split up. Robb and I were going to check out the schoolroom while Dustin and Joe were going to check out the upper levels of the jail.

Dustin looked around quickly, as if looking to see if any of the cameras has us in their shots. The camera couldn't get any shots of me at the moment because they were focused on Robb and Joe who was in front of me and Dustin. They were successfully blocking the cameras view of us.

Dustin must have been satisfied by whatever he saw because he smiled down at me and brushed his hand against mine, touching his fingertips to mine. It was a simple gesture but I found myself short of breath when he did it. I looked up at him in surprise as he mouthed, 'I'll see you later,' to me. My head starting spinning from all the confusion I was feeling at the moment.

'_Is_ _there any way that he could possibly like me too_?' I wondered. '_Or is he just being nice to me and I'm reading everything wrong_?'

At that moment, Robb and Joe stopped and Robb started to go in a different direction than Joe was going in. I knew that it was time for us to split up. Not looking at Dustin, I put my head down and walked away from him, following Robb in the opposite direction. I told myself I had to stop fooling around. I felt sick and wrong. Here I was flirting with a guy when I was supposed to be investigating the prison. I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing and I felt as if I was abusing the position that Robb had given me.

Robb interrupted my thoughts, "Come on, let's go investigate the schoolroom." he instructed.

"Sure, sounds great." I replied.

We walked side by side, nearly a foot apart which was no where near as close as Dustin and I had walked when we were together. It was a change—one that I wasn't sure if I liked or disliked. The camera man walked backwards, pulling the camera towards him as we walked towards. I tried not to look directly into the IR light from the camera as it would probably end up blinding me if I did.

We went through a large black door doorway and entered a large room. The room itself was white like the rest of the jail but the only difference was that this room had large modern day prison bars around the parts of the room that had all sorts of preserved furniture with manikins sitting at, around or on them. It was a schoolroom complete with chalkboards and desks alike.

"School is now back in session," Robb joked.

I sighed, "Oh boy, I thought I was done with that."

I heard Robb chuckle to my right and turned back to look at him. The camera man came up close to me and for once, I didn't shy back. I was finally starting to get used to the fact that anytime I would say or do anything remotely interesting, a camera would be shoved in my face. The camera man decided at that point that I was to do an interview explaining what we were doing. I talked to the camera, telling them that we had split up from the others and were investigating the schoolroom in hopes of capturing evidence of the entities that were spotted within the room.

For a while, Robb and I just went around the room, taking it in and getting a feel for it. We used an infrared camera and took a few photo stills. We also did a thermal sweep but came up empty handed. Not much was happening but Robb wanted to try an EVP session. He pulled a recorder from his jacket and turned it on.

"EVP session, Robb and Mercedes in the school room," Robb spoke into the recorder. He waited a while before he said, "Hello, my name is Robb and this is my friend Mercedes," he paused. "We are here to speak with you. We heard there is a young child who lives here. May we speak with him?"

"What is your name?" I asked. "Why are you still here?" I paused and waited for a response. I watched as Robb panned the thermal around, trying to get some kind of heat fluctuations. But by the look on his face, I knew he wasn't finding any.

"If the child isn't here to speak with us, is there someone else who will?" Robb asked as he walked over towards the chalk board. Before he left though, he handed me the thermal camera. "Do you think you could help us with something?" Robb asked.

Robb picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a simple math problem on the board '2+2'. "We have a math problem on the board. I will read out the example and if you could please make the appropriate number of knocks, we would greatly appreciate it. It will let us know that you are here with us." Robb explained. "Now, here is your problem. It's simple enough, two plus two." He read off.

We both waited patiently to hear the knocks. I felt as if I was practically standing on my toes, just waiting for four taps to sound from some direction. We weren't getting any response so I decided to speak, "Come on, you don't want everyone to think that you were a bad student."

Robb looked at me and smiled in approval.

"There is supposed to be either a little boy or girl that plays in this area. We're trying to communicate with them, but it doesn't seem to be working." Robb said, only I knew he wasn't speaking to me.

"If they aren't here, is there someone else that would like to speak with us?" he asked. "We need to find out the child's name. Can you please tell us their name?"

I panned the thermal around and it let off a tiny beep. I looked down at it and soon the screen flickered and then went black. Confused, I shook it a little and when the screen didn't come back up, I alerted Robb.

"Uhm Robb, either the thermal batteries died or we ran out of tape." I said. "All I have is a black screen."

Robb sighed, pulling his hat off his head and fixing his hair, "We probably ran out of tape. We aren't finding anything here so why don't we find Joe and Dustin and switch teams for a while." he said.

I nodded, "Alright, that's fine."

With that we calmly left the room, shutting the door behind us.

The rest of the night was basically spent in that fashion, four members would go into the jail and split into teams of two and investigate while the extra two team members sat outside. I got to have some one on one time with each other the investigators. I was glad that when Barry and I were investigating some of the upper levels of the jail, that he didn't ask me about what had happened between Dustin and I earlier that evening. I found that Barry was a really cool guy. In fact, all of the GHI guys were really cool. I couldn't believe how nervous I had been to meet them. It seemed rather silly now.

It was now 4am in the morning, I was literally exhausted and couldn't wait to just go back to the hotel to crawl into my bed and just crash. Robb, Joe, Aisha and myself were outside waiting for Dustin and Barry to finish investigating the schoolroom. I hoped that they would find something big but at the same time, I really hoped that they would hurry up.

I slumped my drained body against Aisha's who was sitting next to me on the van's floor and chatting animatedly with Joe. I hadn't been lying to him when I told Joe that she had _Red Bell_ in her purse. I had caught her sneaking some out of her blue _Coach_ purse between investigations. But, I had a feeling that Aisha wasn't just talking to vivaciously with Joe because of the _Red Bull_, I think it had something to do with Barry and her being outside here alone for a while.

When Robb and I came back from investigating and found them outside alone, I knew something had happened between them, I wasn't sure what. The fact that Aisha avoided my gaze and Barry's slightly pink cheeks gave it all away. I wanted to ask her about it, but I had to wait until we were alone which wouldn't be until we got back to the hotel. So, for the meantime I decided to close my eyes and rest my head against Aisha's shoulder as she continued her conversation with Joe, uninterrupted.

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**Dustin POV**

**(_Yay! A New Point of View! Enjoy folks!_)**

It was four o'clock in the morning and I was exhausted. Over the break, I had forgotten how tiring investigations got. It messed up your sleep schedules and ended up messing up your eating schedules and everything. But, when you were able to catch really good evidence, it proved to be completely worth it.

So far the night had had proven to be very interesting. At first, I was weary of two new girls joining the GHI team. After all, we were all pretty close. We were like a family to each other and then suddenly two new people were coming in the replace two old departed family members. To me, it seemed wrong. I was also worried that we would have a problem with our personalities mixing. I always worried about that when we got new GHI members, even with Angela. But I had been proved wrong once again when Aisha and Mercedes seemed to fit in right with us, even more so than Angela and Brandy had been. Don't get me wrong, I liked both Angela and Brandy but there was something different about Aisha and Mercedes….especially Mercedes.

The first time I saw her, I thought, '_Wow, she's beautiful_.' I couldn't stop staring at her. I felt like a eighteen year old perv. I was thirty one years old, not eighteen, so I knew I needed to grow a pair and stop acting like a teenager. And that was another thing, her age. I had no idea how old Mercedes was. For all I knew, she could be ten years younger than me. That could result in quite the problem in the future. I figured that the more time I spent with her, the more that I would begin to realize that she was just like every other girl and I had no reason to freak out because of her company.

But the more time I spent with Mercedes, I realized that _she wasn't like other girls_.

Talking with her had been amazing and I found myself wanting to touch her. I had been holding her hands in mine and just didn't let go, especially since she didn't protest it. As we talked, I found myself absentmindedly rubbing my thumb against her hand in soothing circles. I wasn't sure if she noticed but once again, she didn't protest, so I kept on.

But soon after that, we had been separated which was probably a good thing because I didn't think that I would be able to control myself much longer. I wanted to touch her, to kiss her. It was the oddest thing that I had ever experienced in my life. I had definitely had my fair share of woman in the past, but Mercedes was different. It was just plain different. I wasn't just attracted to her physically, but I honestly enjoyed her company as well.

I also knew that I wasn't the only one who seemed to be harboring affections for a new team member. I had seen that Barry and Aisha had gotten along quite well and seemed to literally be glued to each other's sides. I wanted to ask Barry about it. I also wanted to see what he thought about the girls in general but I also wanted to wait until the cameras were put away. If Barry split his guts about Aisha, I would tell her about Mercedes.

At the moment, I was in the middle of investigating so I tried my hardest not to think about Mercedes at all. It had proved to be a little distracting. It was the last investigation of the night and Robb had just sent Barry and I into the schoolroom to investigate. He and Mercedes had just been in there, but the thermal ran out of tape and they weren't getting anything to really happen, so he asked Barry and I to go in and see if we could get anything to happen, he promised that after we had been in there for thirty minutes to an hour, that we could pack up and head back to the hotel.

We had been inside the room for about fifteen minutes when Barry asked if I wanted to conduct an EVP session. I didn't have a problem with it so I gestured for him to go ahead. While Barry was trying to find his digital voice recorder, I reached into my pocket and grabbed some candy, popping it into my mouth. I had a bit of a candy addiction, a running joke of the GHI team. I always carried some in my pockets. I sucked on my piece of candy happily as Barry let out a grunt of relief as he finally found his recorder.

Barry pulled out a recorder and pressed play. "EVP Session: Dustin and Barry in the schoolroom." Barry said into the recorder.

I panned the mini-DV I had in my hand around the room, shining light into the darkest corners of the room, hoping that I could see something. We had had a lot of personal experiences so far but I really wanted to see something big. I wanted something to happen.

"Hello. This over here, is my friend Dustin" Barry gestured to me, "and my name is Barry." he pointed towards himself.

He waited a while but didn't get a response of any sort.

"At this moment in time," Barry began, "We ask that you come forward. We can not see you or hear you but we would like to." he paused. "We are not here to do you harm in any way, shape or form. In fact, we are here to do quite the opposite."

"We would just like to communicate with you," I said leisurely. "We want to see if there is anything that we could to that will help you."

As we were speaking, I began to get a strange feeling all around me. It was almost as if the air was completely charge, it was thick and almost a little hard to even breathe. I also knew what that meant though, it meant that something was with us, something was trying to manifest. This was something that we had been waiting for all night, and it was finally happening.

"Are you the child who remains here?" I asked quietly. "Are you looking for your way home? You're mom?" I paused for a while, giving the unseen entity, if it was even there with us, time to answer me. "If you are frustrated, why don't you yell at us? We want to hear your story. We want to know what happened to you. Why are you still here?" The voice that I used was a firm, yet soft one, as if I was trying to convince a child to do something. I assumed that I was trying to speak with a child, which was why I tried to keep my tone soft and not demanding. The last thing I wanted to do was scare it off. "Please give me a sign that you hear me, that you can understand me."

Barry took a turn to speak, "Yes it is true, Dustin is from North America. But, he is not here to take you there."

Just as Barry was speaking, I felt something tug at my pocket, the one with candy in it and heard the candy wrappers crinkle slightly. I knew I hadn't done anything because both my hands were on the mini-DV. I looked down in surprise and fumbled with my pocket, before I spun around to look for anything that I could have possibly snagged it on. I was standing in the middle of the room with nothing around me. When I didn't find anything, I was completely and literally stumped.

"Uh, Barry?" I addressed. Barry turned and looked at me. I wasn't sure how to go out and say what happened so I just said it, "Okay, this is going to sound completely weird but, you know me right?" I asked.

Barry looked confused but nodded, "Yes…" he drawled out in his Irish accent.

"Well, you know I always have candy sitting in my pocket. Well, I'm sure that you'll be able to be able to hear it if you play it back on audio, but it almost felt as if someone reached inside my pocket and grabbed at the candy!" I said, still completely shocked about it myself.

"You're sweets got pulled out?" Barry asked in astonishment.

I gulped and nodded, "Yeah." I replied. "It didn't take it, but it was if it was trying to take them. It was just completely odd to me because it felt as if someone, with weight, reached down into my pocket and when I shifted, it tugged slightly."

"Well, you are virtually addicted to candy. Maybe the child was able to sense that," Barry teased.

Just then we both heard Robb's voice over the walkie, letting us know that it was time to wrap up. I sighed in complete relief. I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and get some rest. I was beat and wanted sleep.

As soon as Robb gave the call, the camera man left us, most likely to film us taking down the equipment at central command. Barry was about to walk out of the room when I stopped him. I flicked on the rooms light switch and then tugged on his jacket lightly. Before I spoke, I scanned my eyes around to see if there was anything around to record our voices. I had already turned the mini-DV off and I was pretty sure that Barry had already ended the EVP session so I assumed that we were safe. I was going to try and make it quick so the others were suspicious.

"Hey Barry?" I asked.

Barry turned, "Yeah?"

"Look, this is going to sound odd but…"

Barry chuckled, "Like the sweets incident odd?" he asked.

I shrugged, "Something like that. Actually, I wanted to see what you thought of the girls." I said casually. I scrutinized Barry carefully, watching for any reactions. Just as I predicted, a light pink blush formed very lightly on his cheeks.

"Uhm, they are both very n-nice and they will be g-good assessments to the team." he recited formally.

I laughed, "Barry, I know you have a thing for one of them." I said.

Barry looked slightly alarmed, "That's not—"

I cut him off, "I do too…" I confessed.

"Wait, what?" Barry looked extremely confused, if not a little jealous. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that you have a thing for one of the girls, you like her. It's obvious. The thing is, I like one of them too. I wanted to ask you about it, but I wanted to wait until there weren't any cameras around." I explained to him.

"Which one?" he asked simply.

"Aisha." I replied, assuming that he was asking me to say which one he liked.

It was quiet for a long time. At first I thought that Barry was thinking about my newfound knowledge but then I watched as Barry's expression turned slightly upset then angry, "You have a thing for Aisha?" he asked softly with a little bit of anger laced in his voice.

I shook my head, "NO! That's not what I…" I said, kind of loudly. "I thought you were asking me to say which one that I thought that you liked which is obviously Aisha. You guys have been with each other practically all night long." I said.

"Well then who do you…?" Barry trailed off.

"Mercedes," I said clearly. "I really like Mercedes. She's amazing." I replied. "I feel like an eighteen year old kid, but I really like her."

Barry smiled, "Oh good, for a second, I thought you liked Aisha." he replied.

I shook my head, "No way, she's nice but totally not my type." I assured him. I laughed, "Look at us, we're gossiping like teenage girls!" I exclaimed.

"So I've noticed," he answered. "But, we can talk about this later. Right now we really need to get working on taking equipment down."

Together we left the school room and headed towards central command. Most of the lights were already turned back on and when we made it to the command central, Robb and Mercedes were there taking down the computers. Joe and Aisha were no where to be found but I assumed that they were either taking down the IR cameras or picking up the wireless audio recorders that we had left around the prison. I also gasped as I watched Mercedes bend down to pick up some power cords. The jeans she was wearing were very tight and left little to the imagination. Barry clapped a hand on my shoulder and chuckled, "I assume that a cold shower will be in order for you when we get back to the hotel."

I swallowed noticeably hard and nodded, "Yeah man," I replied, my voice sounded slightly strangled as I watched Mercedes move around picking up the cords, completely unaware that I was staring at her like a complete pervert.

"Good luck with that." Barry snorted as he walked over to talk to Robb about something.

Robb noticed me just standing there like an idiot because he started speaking, "Hey Dustin, stop standing around and get moving." he said. "Some of us would like to get home, you know."

I felt my ears turning slightly red with embarrassment as Mercedes looked up from her position on the floor. When she saw me staring, she blushed bright red and looked quickly back at the cables and switched her position to where I didn't have a nice view of her ass. I sighed in relief but mentally kicked myself for embarrassing her because I couldn't control myself. I felt like an idiot.

'_Great going Dustin_,' I chastened myself as I went to help Robb with the extra computers.

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**_So, what did you think of this chapter? And what about the surprise Dustin POV, did I do our spiky haired friend justice? Anyways, reviews are loved so please send one :) I love to hear what you all think!_**


	6. WG: Part 6 of 7

**Authors Note:**_ I can not BEGIN to tell you how pleased I am with the feedback from this story. It's absolutely astounding and I thank each and every one of you who have been reviewing and reading and all that. Just, thanks. I thought that I would post this chapter today because it's Wednesday which means there is a new GHI episode on tonight and it looks AMAZING so I'm super excited to see it in about six hours from now...lol...but I'm still stoked. Anyways, this chapter is pretty lengthly but I really hope you all enjoy it. It's the anaylsis, yeah it's boring but I feel like I needed to be written, anyways, you get some surprises in this chapter :) So enjoy._

_Check out my website for outfits, characters pictures and profiles and more (: _

_Also, please check out my friend Loreli DeLovely's story called: The Sentinel. It is absolutely AMAZING and it's paranormal centered and completely original. Unfortunatly, people don't seem to be reviewing and such so I thought I do her a favor and mention it on here, especially since we have a bunch of paranormal fans here. Please go check it out. It's an amazing story that shows alot of creativity in the process. I think every single one of you will enjoy it. It's at and here is the link:_

**http:// www . fictionpress . com / s / 2696532 / 1 / The_Sentinel**

_(**Make sure to take out the spaces of the link above!.** I had to do that since doesn't let you post links in your chapters. Please check it out :) For me. Please! You'll get the next chapter faster if you do!)_

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**PLAYLIST:**

_Whispers_

- by -

Unsun

(_**Youtube it. It's amazing!**_)

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**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 6 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

To say I was shocked when I looked up and saw Dustin staring at my ass as I was bent down picking cable wires up off the floor would be a complete understatement. I was shocked and strangely, and even a little disturbingly, pleased. It had to mean something, right?

'_Uhg, I'm pathetic_.' I thought.

The rest of clean up passed by without any big occurrences but I didn't really see Dustin at all until we were packed up and loading the vans up. When he saw me, he looked a little sheepish but I gave him a reassuring smile to tell him everything was okay. I had a feeling that he thought that he offended me, but he didn't. I didn't want him to assume that he did and then him avoid me because of that.

We all piled up into the vans as Robb went to go talk to the owner for a few minutes to explain everything to her. When we were waiting for Robb to return, Aisha, Dustin and I all sat in the van in a slightly tense silence. I fiddled with my hands while Aisha stared out the window at the other van (obviously looking at or for Barry) and Dustin just stared out the front window. It wasn't necessarily an awkward silence, but it wasn't pleasant either. When Robb returned to the van, I nearly sighed in relief.

"So," Robb started as he got situated, "What did you girls think?" he asked.

Aisha spoke enthusiastically, "It's was amazing! I mean, honestly, it was probably one of the best things I've ever experienced." she exclaimed.

"Well, we all know that the _Red Bull_ hasn't worn itself off yet." I muttered.

Robb looked into the review mirror to me, "She's going to regret it when she has that sugar crash in a little while."

Dustin chuckled quietly in the passenger's seat while Aisha scowled at me. The rest of the ride home was quiet and uneventful. Robb and Dustin discussed certain things that happened but for the most part, left me and Aisha to just relax in the backseat. At one point, I heard Dustin telling Robb about how something had reached into his pocket and tried to grab out some candy that had been inside. I gasped in surprise.

He must have heard me because he turned his face around to look at me. The smile he gave me was a practically award winning smile. To me, Dustin honestly resembled a little kid on Christmas morning who was about to open up their presents—he was _that _giddy about the situation. I found it kind of endearing. I grinned back, "That's amazing."

He nodded, "I know, it sounds so strange but it just practically reached inside and tugged."

"I hope they caught something on tape," Robb said.

"Yeah," Dustin replied.

Not long after we returned to the hotel and we all groggily pulled ourselves out of the vans and made our way towards our rooms. I was one of the first ones in, I didn't even wait for Aisha who was still as awake as ever. I, on the other hand, was nearing complete exhaustion. I wasn't used to being up nearly all night and day while almost always doing something of importance. Everyone assured me that it would get easier in time and I didn't doubt it, but right now the tiredness was nearly a killer. As I was slugging along, Dustin came up behind me, "Now are you tired?" he asked me playfully.

I turned and nodded, "Very, very much so." I slurred out drowsily.

"Well, I hope you make it to the room before you collapse." he replied.

I groaned, "Do you think that the staff would care if I sat down here in the hall and slept here?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, probably," Dustin laughed.

"Damn." I muttered.

Dustin brought his hand up to my shoulder and spun me around to face him, "You get some sleep, alright?" he whispered.

I nodded and was almost too tired to even care that he brought his hand up to push some hair away from my face—almost. I smiled lazily at him, "Tonight was incredible." I said.

He nodded, "It was, a lot of really interesting things happened so I hope we got a lot of good evidence to show the client." Dustin said. "You go to sleep though," I looked around and realized that where he had stopped me was right in front of my hotel room. I wouldn't have even noticed if Dustin hadn't stopped me. "You have to look through evidence tomorrow and trust me. I know from experience that it is probably the most boring part of an investigation."

I nodded against his hand which I still realized was pressed against the side of my face, "Goodnight Mercedes." he said quietly.

"Night," I muttered, reaching into my purse to find my keys before I pulled away from his touch as I turned around to unlock the door to my suite. Once the door was open, I turned around once more and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets, watching me with his own tired eyes.

We heard voices coming down the hall and I peaked around my room to see the others walking in our direction. They stopped once they reached us. Aisha came and stood under the doorway with me and beamed largely. I managed a small smile back.

"Okay, since Mercedes looks like she's about to fall over and pass out, good night to you all and get a good nights rest because you all have analyzing to do tomorrow." Robb announced.

"Yippee," Barry said sarcastically.

Everyone had a final good laugh before we all went into our suites for the night. I pulled down the covers of my bed and didn't even bother changing my clothes and just pulled off my shoes and slipped into my bed and pulled the covers over me and snuggled up. I had never been so relieved to be in a bed before in my entire life.

Aisha crawled into her bed and within minutes was zonked out. I guess Robb hadn't been kidding when he mentioned that she would crash really hard after the sugar rush was gone. I had wanted to ask her about Barry but I realized that that would have to wait until morning since she was completely out of it now. I closed my eyes and promptly fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was a loud knock that woke me up hours later. I forcefully covered my head with my pillow while I heard Aisha practically scream into her pillow in the second bed in the suite. Even though Aisha and I were in our mid-twenties, we were _not _morning people and were extremely cranky in the mornings. We detested mornings and were usually really bitchy to people who woke us up. Whoever was at the door was up for an extremely rude wake up call if they didn't go away.

A few more knockings sounded before Aisha muttered something like, "Go away or die," into her pillow. I giggled slightly and finally got myself awake enough to walk over to the door without running into anything. I knew I probably looked like crap but I honestly didn't care. I took a glance at the clock—it was around two o'clock—so I guess it was probably Robb who was knocking at the door either that or an _extremely_ unfortunate maid.

When I threw open the door I was embarrassed to not only find Robb, but found that the three other guys there as well. Robb was laughing while the other guys were trying to hold back their sniggers. I blushed bright red because Dustin was staring straight at me with twinkling eyes. I knew that I looked horrible, very, very horrible and I was probably the _last_ person that he would find remotely attractive at the moment.

"Well at least we know one of them isn't dead. You two must be really deep sleepers." Robb commented.

"Why?" I asked. I was surprised that my voice still sounded raspy from sleep.

"Because you slept through three phone calls to the room," Robb laughed. "We decided that we would have to do a personal wake up call this morning and if that didn't work we were going to get the staff to unlock the door to make sure you all weren't dead or something."

I rolled my eyes and slumped against the side of the door, "Sorry guys, I don't know why…usually I'm not a heavy sleeper." I apologized.

"That's exhaustion talking. The case last night was an extremely long one." Barry said sympathetically. "We usually aren't there until six in the morning."

"You should wake up Aisha and then get cleaned up, Mercedes. No offense, but your hair looks like a rats nest," Robb teased, pointing at my hair.

I wrapped my arms around my body gently, "Does not!" I retorted even though I knew it probably did.

"I'd love to wake up next to that every morning," Dustin blurted out.

Both Barry and I shifted our eyes to him in shock while Robb and Joe just laughed at the statement, obviously not finding anything wrong with it. Barry must have known something, or else he wouldn't have looked at Dustin like he had. I couldn't be sure if Dustin was even being serious or not.

I watched in amusement as his ears turned a little pink before Robb interrupted and spoke in a cynical voice, "Well if you _did_ Dustin—that would explain why you're hair sticks straight up on end." Robb then made a loud girlish scream and then pretended to hair spray his hair.

Dustin's face was frozen in shock while the rest of us laughed, "Dude, why is it always me that you pick on!" he exclaimed lightheartedly.

We were interrupted by a tired voice coming from the back of the room, "Mer-ced-es!" Aisha drawled out, "Who is it? Who am I going to have to _murder_ this morning?"

This brought all the guys into an even deeper set of laughter as I turned around to see Aisha crawling off the bed looking murderously angry at the guys. "Oh, there is the second one. Both are alive!" Robb said sarcastically.

"Good morning," Aisha said, semi-forcefully and ignoring his jab at us.

"More like good afternoon, it's around two o'clock." Robb replied.

Aisha turned and looked at the clock, "It's only two?" she asked, staring at the clock in wonder.

"Only?" Robb asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aisha shrugged but didn't comment. Instead she changed the subject, "So I guess we need to get ready?" she asked.

Robb nodded, "You guessed correctly. When you two are ready, met Joe and Barry in their room and you can all go down to the meeting room together. Bring lots of caffeine because you'll probably be there all day and half of the night going through the evidence."

Aisha and I nodded sleepily before the guys left us to our own devises in the room alone. I shut the door and leaned against it, "Well that was embarrassing." I said.

"Why?" Aisha asked.

I gestured to our bodies, "Because we look like shit!" I exclaimed.

"Why would it matter?" Aisha asked charily.

"Because Dustin was—" I cut myself off and blushed.

"I KNEW IT!" Aisha shouted while pointing at me accusingly, "You like Dustin!"

"Oh yeah, well you like Barry!" I retorted.

Her face turned pink in embarrassment, "H-how did you know?" she asked quietly.

"Totally obvious," I replied.

"It's totally obvious that you like Dustin too, or at least it's obvious for me." Aisha told me.

I nodded, "I figured, you can always see right through me."

Aisha smiled at me and leaned over to hug me tightly, "Do you think they like us back?" she asked.

I shrugged into the hug, "Who knows." I said truthfully. "They're males, they won't let us know but instead they will lead us around in circles confusing the hell out of us." I said. "And then once they have us, they will feel the need to hypothetically pee on us to keep other men away from us."

Aisha raised an eyebrow at me before she double over, holding her stomach and laughing, "Mercedes, you always say the stupidest things!" she laughed.

"Well it's absolutely true," I defended, placing my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes at my best friend.

Aisha shrugged, "Never said it wasn't, all I'm saying is that you sure have a way with words."

I rolled my eyes at her before making my way to the bathroom. Once I was safely inside the bathroom I leaned out and saw her pouting at me, "Today, I get first dibs." I teased before I slammed the door shut and locked it.

* * *

Less than an hour later Aisha and I were both ready to go. I had changed into a comfy light grey v-neck sweater from _Wet Seal_, a pair of _True Religion_ jeans and threw on a pair of grey suede flats. I finished off the look by putting on my _Dolce and Gabbana_ logo rosary necklace that my parents had bought me for my birthday a few years ago. I wasn't catholic, but it was a very pretty necklace. I think my parents thought that if I wore it during investigations, my work wouldn't follow me home. I had decided to not straighten my hair and instead let it air dry into natural looking wavy curls.

I also decided that since I was going to be staring at a computer scene all day I decided to slip on my black square reading glasses. I didn't have bad visionary problems, but my eyes tended to hurt if I didn't wear my glasses when I would read a book or stare at a computer for long periods of time. I put on a light layer of makeup before grabbing my phone and room keys and starting for Barry and Joe's room. Aisha was still finishing up her makeup but told me to go on ahead since I had been sitting around waiting for her to get done for the past twenty minutes.

I walked down the hallway and when I reached Barry and Joe's suite, I knocked on the door softly waiting for one of them to answer the door. When the door finally opened Barry stood there with a smile on his face, "Hello Mercedes, you looking better now." he teased.

I let myself into the hotel suite as I said, "Yeah, yeah. I know."

Joe was sitting on one of the beds in the room fiddling around with a remote to the TV. When he noticed me he smiled, "I didn't know you wore glasses." he commented.

"I don't," I replied, which seemed to confuse him, so I continued. "They are reading glasses. If I am going to be staring at a computer all day, I'm going to need them though."

Barry came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, "Well they look good on you." he said genially. I knew right away that he wasn't flirting, he was just being polite. "So, where is Aisha?" he asked, semi-casually.

I grinned at Barry, a grin that could probably be called a mischievous grin, "She's spending a few extra minutes getting ready. Since she made me overly late yesterday before going on the investigation I decided to get her back but getting to the bathroom first. I think that next time we should have our own rooms." I said, slightly sarcastically.

Barry nodded, "Well, we usually do have our own rooms. I think that the inn was really busy so Robb had to pair us up in rooms." he explained.

"Oh," I replied simply.

I decided to plop down on the bed next to Joe who was still messing around with the remote, all the while having a thoughtful look on his face. I looked up at the TV and saw that some TV show was playing. "So what are we watching?" I asked Joe.

Joe tilted his head slight and sighed, "Honestly, I have no idea."

I laughed, "Well why don't you know what you are watching?"

He shrugged, "We can't hear it."

"Is the sound on?" I asked slowly.

He nodded.

I pondered for a while and looked at the TV show. The show was in black and white, signaling that it was probably pretty old. Suddenly an idea popped in my head, "I know why you can't hear it." I grinned.

"Why?" Both Barry and Joe asked.

I pointed to the TV, "The black and whiteness gave it all away. I think you two are watching a silent movie. There isn't supposed to be sound!" I exclaimed.

Barry rubbed his chin slightly, "That…that would explain a lot." he chuckled.

"Okay, so what does this analysis entail? I've watched you guys do it on the shows before but I'm still not exactly sure what all goes on…" I said.

Joe looked a little surprised, "So you are a fan of the show?" he asked curiously.

I smiled largely, "Are you kidding me? Aisha and I own all the DVD sets to _Ghost Hunters_ and _Ghost Hunters International_. We were actually watching some _GHI_ episodes when Robb called us." I admitted to them.

"Well isn't that ironic," Barry said thoughtfully. "But what we do in analysis is no different from what you've seen on the show. We sit down and each take equipment and go over it. It takes a long time but it's unquestionably worth it if we find something really remarkable for our client." he explained.

"Alright," I said. "Sounds easy enough."

"The hardest part is staying awake," Joe jabbed good-humoredly.

I giggled quietly at the same time Barry said, "True, very true."

There was a knock on the door and Barry strode over to answer it with a small smile on his face. I knew what that smile was for. Barry obviously thought that Aisha was the one behind the door. I thought it was cute how infatuated they were with each other. It was simply adorable. I wondered if it was so obvious between me and Dustin, if Dustin even returned my feelings that is. I had a feeling he did, but I definitely didn't want to assume anything and then get disappointed when I found out he was just being polite.

I peaked around the corner of the room towards the doorway and saw Barry and Aisha talking quietly. Aisha looked pretty. Her hair was once again straightened but this time she wasn't wearing makeup, she didn't need it anyways. She was dressed in a ruby red long sleeved top with slightly destroyed _American Eagle_ jeans and pair of black, white and red converse. She was dressed down, as was I, it wasn't like we were going out in public today other than the cameras filming us during analysis. I waved to her as she entered the room with Barry a few seconds later.

"Are you in a better mood now?" I asked her.

She grinned and held up two cups of coffee. She handed me one before taking a deep sip from here, "Yes, these are curtsey of Robb once again."

I looked at the coffee cup in wonder, "Does Robb always go on coffee runs?" I asked.

Barry laughed, "Usually. He's a morning person and usually is up before everyone else. I'm a morning person as well but Robb is the only person I've met that is usually up before I am."

I shook my head, "In case you haven't noticed, Aisha and I are _not _morning people."

Joe patted my arm, "You'll get used to it."

"Well," Barry clapped his hands slightly. "Let's get to work now, shall we?" he started for the door.

"Where are we going?" Aisha asked inquisitively.

"The meeting room downstairs," Barry replied. "We'll have more room in there. We were just going to meet in here before we went down there. Robb reserved the room for us for the full day and tomorrow, just in case it takes us longer than expected."

I sighed, "Oh yay." I said dully.

"Whoopee," Aisha seconded, putting her fist in the air half heartedly.

Barry put his arms around our shoulders, "Come on ladies," he said, leading us towards the door with Joe following behind us.

We made it down to the meeting room in just a few minutes. The meeting room was huge, and reminded me of a conference hall or a ballroom only on a less significant scale. There was a long table set up with all the computers and equipment already set up, ready for us to analyze. From the looks of it, there was a lot of stuff. I sighed despondently and sat down on the far end of the table and waited for Barry or Joe to instruct me further.

Joe sat down next to me, then Aisha sat down and lastly Barry sat down at the opposite end of the table, "Okay, I'll take all the large cameras from the computer screen, Aisha can take some mini-DV's, Joe can take thermal and mini-DV's and Mercedes, you take wireless." he instructed.

I nodded and picked up some of the wireless audio equipment in front of me and put my favorite pair of headphones in and got to work.

Analyzing wireless audio wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. All I had to do was sit down and listen to the sound coming through my headphones; it was almost like listening to music. I was able to lean back in the chair and close my eyes. Since I wasn't staring at a computer, I slid my reading glasses off my face and had placed them on the table in front of me.

For a while, all I heard were investigators talking, I didn't hear anything interesting. But after a while, I heard something that war rather attention-grabbing. Joe and Robb were the ones who had been investigating so I nudged Joe, "Hey Joe?"

Joe stopped what he was doing and looked up, showing that I had his attention.

"Okay, well you and Robb were investigating together in the main floor of the jail," I paused and Joe nodded, "You were doing an EVP session and…well I think you got something." I said with a smile.

Joe placed the headphones on and took a listen to what I had heard. It was strange. There were a few taps of something and then a voice spoke something out loud that wasn't one of the investigators. It was faint but obviously male. I wouldn't make it out exactly what it was saying.

Joe listened to it and twisted his features, most likely trying to think of what the voice was saying, "I heard it," he said. "It sounds like…_rice_ or something of that sort." he chuckled lightly.

I handed the headphones to Barry to see what his thoughts were, "What do we have here?" Barry murmured. I played the audio clip for him, "Well, there is definitely something there, but I think it is saying _rights_, not _rice_." Barry said attentively. "It would make sense because the people who were imprisoned there were fighting for their rights."

Joe smirked, "Oh, I see. Well, I just took it as rice because I'm Asian you know."

We all had a good laugh at that before we continued on. We went a few hours without checking anything before I heard Aisha gasp. I looked up at her quizzically and she was staring at the mini-DV screen in shock. She took the headphones off of her head and looked at me in slight shock, "Wow, so uhm guys, I think we have something…" she trailed off.

She looked at me, "Mercy and Dustin were down in solitary. Uhm, they got something and it sounds…well, honestly it kind of sounds like a growl to me." Aisha hooked all our headphones up to the mini-DV screen and we listened as she pressed play.

It was silent for a few seconds and then a deep growl sounded. The voice was low and deep and didn't sound too happy. My head flew up in shock, "Oh my god," I whispered. The whole thing sent shivers down my spine and I was very thankful that I hadn't been able to hear that during the actual investigation.

"Wow…" Joe said, sounding stunned. His dark brown eyes were wide open with disbelief.

Barry took his headphones off, "I certainly wasn't expecting to hear that of all things." he said.

Joe nodded, "It sounded…slightly malicious." he said.

"I remember when that happened." I said. Barry, Aisha and Joe looked at me as I continued, "We were in the cell, trying to make contact. Dustin couldn't get it to do anything so I decided to try. I asked it to speak to me and then both Dustin and I heard something, but we couldn't make out what it was. It was closer to Dustin then me. I'm glad I didn't hear it then, I probably would have wanted to leave the cell." I shivered. Just thinking about it sent chills down my body once more.

"Well have to show that to Robb and Dustin," Barry said sensibly. "Well, good catch Aisha," he said, giving her a smile. "Back to work though," he sighed.

The rest of the time was spent pretty uneventfully. I caught a couple of things that might have been EVP's and showed them to Barry, Joe and Aisha. I caught a couple of the prison doors closing which we had been hearing all throughout the night. But we didn't find anything major until Barry exclaimed, "Hey, you guys you need to have a look at this."

We gathered around him and watched on the screen as a mysterious light appeared in the main hallway. Barry couldn't explain it and neither could the rest of us. We were all surprised and happy that we had found something so interesting.

Barry seemed to be very happy with what he was able to find because he said, "The client said that that's where she has seen things hovering around. She was really hoping we captured it and I think we actually did."

We all nodded before turning back to our equipment. Barry found another light that appeared from no where and showed it to us but other than that, we didn't find anything else. I was almost to the end of my audio equipment and I was happy. The last thing I was going over was Dustin and Barry's investigation in the schoolroom. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture the candy wrapper making noises when something grabbed at it, but I was able to hear Dustin's reaction. I listened until I heard the sound of Robb coming over their walkie that they had with them. I was about to turn it off when I saw that there was still a few more minutes of tape running. I decided to be safe and check it out anyways, just to be safe.

It was quiet for a little bit before Dustin and Barry started talking. It was obvious that they didn't know that the wireless audio was still on, Barry had been the one to have it and probably forgot to turn it off when he placed it back into his jacket. Their words were faint, but I could still make out their conversation. I was amazed at what I was hearing.

"_Hey Barry_?" I heard Dustin's voice asked.

There was the sound of shuffling before Barry answered, "_Yeah_?"

"_Look, this is going to sound odd but_…" Dustin started.

You could hear Barry chuckling before he interrupted, "_Like the sweets incident odd_?" he asked.

"_Something like that_." Dustin replied. "_Actually, I wanted to see what you thought of the girls_."

There was silence for a moment before my eyes grew a little wide. I was worried about what they would say. Obviously this was a private conversation and I didn't want to snoop but I knew I had to, just incase something showed up.

"_Uhm, they are both very n-nice and they will be g-good assessments to the team_." Barry recited formally.

Dustin laughed, "_Barry, I know you have a thing for one of them_." I said.

I laughed silently in my head, I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"_That's not_—" Barry began to protest but Dustin cut him off.

"_I do too_…" Dustin said.

My breath caught in my throat. Dustin liked either me or Aisha. I held my breath in hope as the conversation drug on.

"_Wait, what_?" Barry sounded slightly jealous. "_What are you talking about_?"

"_I know that you have a thing for one of the girls, you like her. It's obvious. The thing is, I like one of them too. I wanted to ask you about it, but I wanted to wait until there weren't any cameras around_." Dustin's voice explained.

Obviously neither Barry nor Dustin realized that the audio was still rolling film and recording their conversation.

"_Which one_?" Barry asked.

"_Aisha_." Dustin replied.

My heart sunk in my chest. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I felt like someone told me that they ran over my brand new puppy. I knew I shouldn't be upset, I didn't have any claim over Dustin and I barely knew him. Mostly, I felt bad for Barry. Both he _and _Dustin liked the same girl. I was surprised that Barry wasn't being a little cold to him, but they had seemed just fine earlier that morning.

It was quiet for a long time, "_You have a thing for Aisha_?" Barry finally asked in a firm voice. You could hear the anger lacing in his accent as he spoke.

Suddenly Dustin's voice was very loud on the tape as he yelled, "_NO! That's not what I_…" My heart rose, maybe I just misinterpreted what I had heard. Dustin continued speaking. "_I thought you were asking me to say which one that I thought that you liked which is obviously Aisha. You guys have been with each other practically all night long_." Dustin said.

"_Well then who do you_…?" Barry trailed off.

"_Mercedes_," Dustin said clearly. My heart started beating wildly in my chest. Dustin kept speaking though. His next words almost made me squeal like a young teenage girl in delight, "_I really like Mercedes. She's amazing._ _I feel like an eighteen year old kid, but I really like her_."

Barry replied in a voice that was much lighter and carefree than before, "_Oh good, for a second, I thought you liked Aisha_."

"_No way, she's nice but totally not my type_." Dustin said firmly before he started laughing, "_Look at us, we're gossiping like teenage girls!_" he exclaimed.

"_So I've noticed_," Barry answered. "_But, we can talk about this later. Right now we really need to get working on taking equipment down_."

The sounds of their footsteps walking throughout the prison sounded until they suddenly stopped. There was a gasp from one of them but it was still quiet for a while before Barry's voice whispered, "_I assume that a cold shower will be in order for you when we get back to the hotel_." he chuckled lightly afterwards.

"_Yeah man_," Dustin's voice replied, sounding slightly smothered, as if he was having problems speaking.

"_Good luck with that_." Barry chortled.

The sounds of Barry walking away from Dustin played out in my ears. Then I heard Barry and Robb talking for a while didn't really concern me. Barry was telling Robb he was going to pick up the cameras when all of a sudden, Robb interrupted and said loudly, "_Hey Dustin, stop standing around and get moving. Some of us would like to get home, you know_."

A blush instantly rose to my cheeks and I knew exactly when that had happened. That was when Dustin had been staring at me. Was all the talk of cold showers because of _me_? Or was there something else I was missing?

The tape ran about five or ten minutes longer and the only sounds you could hear were us taking down equipment and having casual conversations. But one other conversation caught my interest. It was right before the tape finally ran out…

"_Aisha, do you need some help with that_?" Barry's Irish accent asked thickly.

You could hear Aisha huffing in the background, "_Yeah, thanks Barry_." she said sweetly.

"_No problem, darling_." Barry said. There was the sound of a loud bang, as I assumed Barry picked up whatever Aisha had been struggling with and placed it down, most likely in the van.

It was quiet and all you could hear was the sound of heavy breathing and slight shuffling. I couldn't make out quite what they were doing but the sounds of their coats rustling and their heavy breathing continued. There was a loud sigh before Aisha's voice sounded in my ears from the tap, "_Are there any others around_?"

There was most rustling before Barry replied, "_No, I think the others are inside still_."

"_Good_," Aisha murmured, "_Because I like this, a lot_."

"_Me too_."

"_Barry I_—" Aisha's voice cut off as the tape ran out and I instantly wondered what she was going to say to him. I stared at the tape in surprise. Knowing that there wasn't any evidence on it, I stealthily took it from the audio recorder and placed it next to the other pile of tapes. I was going to hide it as soon as the cameras stopped rolling. It would be very bad for all of us if someone else found this tape.

It was another ten or fifteen minutes before the others had finished their stuff. We talked about the evidence a while before the camera men stopped rolling their cameras and left the room. Barry also left to go track down Dustin and Robb. Joe and Aisha started talking about something and when they weren't looking, I grabbed the tape and stuck it in my pocket. I then looked at the clock and blinked in surprise, we had started at around three o'clock in the afternoon and the clock now read eight thirty. I looked out the window and saw a grey light. I knew by the way that the light was shining that it wasn't eight in the evening. I was surprised that it was actually eight in the morning. I was even more surprised that I wasn't outright exhausted. But then again, I was downing coffee like no other throughout the entire time I was going over the audio footage.

A few minutes later, Barry returned with Dustin and Robb flanking him. When Dustin saw me, he grinned. This time, I didn't grin back, I raised a single eyebrow at him. His smile faded and a look of confusion crossed his face. I couldn't tell him now, but I would have to talk to him later. I knew I needed to tell him that I found the tape. I would probably give it to him to decide what to do with it.

"So," Robb announced, "What did we find?"

We had given Barry all the evidence that we had captured and so he went through all of it, showing it to Robb and Dustin to see what their takes of it were. Dustin was very surprised when he heard the growl. He looked at me in shock while I simply nodded in reply. But both Robb and Dustin were pleasantly surprised when Barry showed them the strange lights on the IR cameras.

"This is fantastic!" Robb said, "We got really good evidence this case and with two new members. I think that this case went extremely well and I can't wait for the next one." he said happily. "Well, it's about nine in the morning and you guys have been up for almost twenty-four hours once again so you can get some shut eye and this time we won't wake you up," he eyed Aisha and I with twinkling eyes. Barry, Joe, Aisha and I stood up and stretched.

My eyes started to feel a little droopy and I was glad that this analysis was over. I could finally go and get the rest that my body wanted so badly. We were leaving the meeting room when Robb gabbed my shoulder, "Mercedes, I'd like to speak with you for a moment."

I instantly got worried, what on earth would Robb have to speak with me about? Was it something to do with Dustin or had I done something else wrong. I quickly handed Aisha the keys to our suite and was slightly nervous as I watched the rest of the team file out of the room, giving Robb and I curious looks. Once they were all gone, Robb asked me to sit down.

"You look like I'm about to throw you to the wolves or something," Robb said, "Lighten up, you didn't do anything wrong." he assured me.

My body instantly relaxed and I let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, well what is it then?"

Robb grinned, "Well as you know, we need a case manager on the team. Since Brandy left, we don't have one and I was wondering if you would be interested in becoming our new case manager? I know that both you and Aisha mentioned that you were a bit of a history and research buff. I think this would be the perfect job for you." he offered.

I shook my head 'yes' enthusiastically, "I'd love that!" I exclaimed.

"Of course if you have any issues or questions feel free to come talk to me, Dustin or any of the other guys." Robb said.

I nodded in agreement.

"Okay," he said and patted my shoulder, "You go get some shut-eye while Dustin and I go talk to the client and show her what you guys found."

"Okay, thanks Robb, really this is…amazing. I feel like…I don't even know." I said. I knew I wasn't making much sense, but in my head, everything was swirling around like mad.

Robb and I got up and left the conference room. He told me that he needed to get something from out in the van and that if I could go track down Dustin for him, it would be a big help. I didn't mind the least, I needed the have a small chat with Dustin anyways so I agreed to Robb's terms. We parted ways in the lobby and I made my way to Robb and Dustin's room and knocked on the door and waited patiently for Dustin to answer the door.

I didn't have to wait long because Dustin threw open the door, standing with his black sunglasses, a black Ghost Hunters International sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. I smiled at him as he opened the door. "Robb's waiting for you out in the van." I said.

"Did he tell you?" Dustin asked me anxiously.

"About what?" I asked, "About the whole me being case manager thing?" Dustin nodded and I replied, "Yeah, he told me. It's exciting."

He nodded, "It's a great opportunity for you."

"So, after you get back…" I trailed off and he raised an eyebrow at me, "You and I need to talk."

Dustin paled slightly, making the dark sunglasses he was wearing contrast greatly with his face. "About what?" he asked.

I decided to make him sweat and play innocent, "Oh nothing big, me and you just need to discuss something but right now Robb is waiting on you and I'm tired so I'm going to sleep. When I wake up, I'll come find you, okay."

Dustin swallowed, "Sure…" he said hesitantly.

I smiled, "Okay, well I'll see you later." I told him before I started off down the hallway with a small smile on my face.

I made it to the room in no time and knocked on the door. Aisha opened it and let me in and immediately bombarded me with questions on what had happened with Robb. I explained to her that Robb had asked me to be the case manager and Aisha squealed loudly, "Oh wow, are you serious?" she asked.

"Very," I replied.

She grinned, "This is awesome. All of our dreams are coming true this is…I can't even explain it."

I smiled back at her, "I know, but right now, I'm tired so I'm going to sleep."

Aisha nodded, "Me too."

We said our goodnights before crawling into our separate beds. We shut off the lamps above the nightstand that was in between the two beds and then curled up in bed. Aisha, as always, fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. It always took me ages to fall asleep. As I lay in bed I thought about the new job Robb had given to me, I thought about Dustin and the talk we would be having later and what I hoped would come from it. Lastly, I thought about Aisha and Barry and how they returned each other's feelings as well. I debated telling Aisha about the tape that I had found but then decided against it. The less people who knew about it, the better. I felt a loud yawn coming on and I rubbed my eyes. I let darkness overcome me and for the second night in a row, I fell asleep with all of my clothes still on.

* * *

**_So, what do you think? What do you think will happen in the next chapter. Note, the next chapter is the last of the 'Wicklow Gaol' investigation. I have ideas for the next few investigations if you guys are willing for me to keep writing this story. What do you think? Should I start 'Skeleton In The Closet'? Let me know :) And don't forget to check out and review my friends fictionpress story. It would mean alot to her if you would take the time to read it :) Thanks in advance to all those who do so! _**

**_Until next time,_**

**_- RIP._**


	7. WG: Part 7 of 7

**Authors Note**: _Okay folks, here we are...the last chapter of the 'Wicklow's Gaol' case. Now, this was where I was originally going to end the story, BUT, I'm having such an awesome time writing this story and messing around with the characters, that I'm going to try and write all the other GHI cases as well (there are four more episodes that I can write, with a fifth one on the way) and so far everyone seems to be interested in reading them and I've already started writing 'Skeleton In The Closet.' It's MUCH longer than this case because it's already four chapters long (over 22,000 words already typed down!) and I haven't even got through the first case yet. There is two cases for the next episode. If you watch GHI, you'll already know where they are going next. Like this episode, I'm going to stick as close to cannon as possible (meaning I won't be faking the actual evidence) although the personal experiences might be more extreme or less extreme. Depending on what I decide to write. Anyways, thanks to all of you who have been reading. It will probably be two weeks or more before I get out the first chapter of 'Skeleton In The Closet' because I want it to be all the way finished before I post it. And I'll just add it here on this story instead of making an entire new one. :) Anyways, I go back to school in less than two weeks so that will cut down my writing time a TON :( Anyways, I hope you all stick with me. Well, that's ENOUGH of me talking for a while. So enjoy this last chapter. It's super fluffy :)_

_Happy Reading,_

_- RIP._

**!WARNING!: There is strong language in this chapter. If you don't like it, I apologize in advance.**

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**PLAYLIST:**

_Everything I Ask For_

- by -

The Maine

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**It's The Fear**

**Wicklow Gaol: Part 7 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

When I finally emerged from my slumber it was around 8pm. I felt completely refreshed after getting a much needed long night of sleep. I was ready to have my talk with Dustin. I wasn't sure what would come out of the talk, but at least he would know that I liked him too. After taking another quick glance at the clock, I knew that Dustin and Robb probably would've returned ages ago, so I got up quietly so I wouldn't disturb Aisha, who was still sleeping soundly in bed, and went to change and get ready.

I took a quick shower and chose to once again let my hair air dry into waves. I put on a little bit of mascara before throwing on a plain black tank top and a comfortable pair of _Bare Feet _destroyed jeans. I gently placed my rosary necklace back around my neck before I slipped on my pair of worn black _DC_'s and then finished the look by throwing a blue and black plaid zip-up sweatshirt over my tank top. In all, I looked comfortable and casual, which was what I really felt like. I didn't feel like dressing all up just because I needed to talk to Dustin about something. The concept seemed pretty much pointless to me.

The night before, I had taken out the tape of Dustin and Barry's conversation and hidden it in my purse. After I was ready to go, I took the tape out of my purse and placed it safely in my jeans pocket. I wrote Aisha a quick note letting her know that I was going to be gone for a bit before picking up my cell phone, the room keys and left the room, shutting the door softly behind me.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of thoughts started to cross my mind. I wasn't sure how I was going to talk to Dustin. I didn't have his number so I couldn't text or call him to let him know where to find me. Then as the thought came up, I wasn't sure where I was going to talk to him either. I didn't want to do it in the hotel around everyone so I decided that we could take a short walk through the gardens outside of the hotel. We still had a half hour to an hour of daylight left at most, so the walk sounded like a good idea.

But I was still unsure on how I was going to be able to find Dustin and get him outside with me without anyone noticing or becoming suspicious. Thankfully, lady luck decided to be on my side because as I stood standing outside of my hotel room debating how I was going to get to him, the man who plagued my thoughts came walking down the hallway with a apprehensive look gracing his features. I gave him a small smile as he reached me, trying to show him that everything was okay. He tried to smile back, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Hey," I said.

Dustin looked me up and down, "You look better now." he told me.

I nodded, "Twelve hours of deep incessant sleep will do that to you." I said. "But now I'll be up half the night since I slept all day long. So, I guess it does have its disadvantages." I rambled.

Dustin chuckled quietly before his features grew serious, "So, you uh…wanted to talk to me?" he asked nervously.

"Yes I did, I figured we could go outside and walk around a bit. They have a small garden out back with a bench and stuff. I thought we could go sit back there for some privacy." I said, enlightening him on the plan that I had come up with just moments before he had appeared.

He swallowed and then replied thickly, "Okay,"

We walked silently out the back entrance of the hotel and to the garden in the back of hotel. It was very beautiful. The flowers and grasses planted within the garden were pretty exotic for my tastes but were probably just native flowers to the land. There was a small gravel path that led throughout the entire plot and a wrought iron bench that sat in the very back between two large trees. Aisha and I had discovered the garden a few days before Dustin, Barry and Joe had arrived and immediately dubbed the place as one of our new favorite spots. One day, when we hadn't been doing anything interesting, I had grabbed a book of mine and sat out in the garden reading for hours. Robb and Aisha found me in the same place about five hours later, still engrossed in my book and the lovely scenery surrounding me.

I led Dustin to the iron bench and sat down before patting the spot next to me, silently letting Dustin know that he should sit down next to me. My hands shook slightly as I opened my mouth to speak. Every word and conversation I had played in my head suddenly flew out the window and I couldn't remember exactly what and how I was going to tell him what happened. After a few minutes of sitting in awkward silence with me opening and closing my mouth every few seconds, I decided that the easiest way to explain everything to him was to give him the tape and tell him what I had heard on it.

"I need to show you something," I told Dustin softly.

"What is it?" Dustin asked curiously.

I then reached into my jeans pocket and slowly pulled out the tape that I had taken from the analysis. I took one of his hands in mine and opened it up, placed the tape inside and then put his hand back into his own lap. Dustin looked down and examined the tape in confusion, "What's this?" he asked.

"It's something I found during the analysis." I told him.

Dustin looked up in surprise, his eyes narrowed, "You kept evidence from us?" he asked, slightly angry.

I shook my head firmly, "That isn't evidence." I told him. "It's a private conversation between two people that I found when I was going through the digital audio. I think that you should have it." I whispered.

Dustin's eyes searched mine for a few minutes before his eyes widened and his face paled significantly. "And w-who was having this c-conversation?" he stuttered.

"You and Barry," I replied, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Aw fuck!" Dustin exclaimed. "You've got to be shitting me. I turned off my fucking mini-DV, how in the hell could it have picked up the…" he cut himself off. "I can't – fuck – I'm an idiot." he said, hanging his head. "You must think…you don't even know me and…I'm so sorry." he ranted.

I smiled at him slightly before reached over and taking his hands in mine, "It's okay," I told him.

He shook his head, "The conversation that you heard, how—how much did you hear?" he asked.

"Everything," I replied.

Dustin pulled his hands from mine and ran them over his angular face, "Shit. Everything?" he peaked through his fingers like a little kid to see my reaction.

"Yes."

"I'm so, so sorry Mercedes, you must think that I'm crazy and that…you probably don't feel the same. I don't really know anything about you, you could already have a boyfriend back home or even a husband…holy shit! Here I've been flirting with you for the past two or three days and…" I cut him off by placing a finger against his lips. Once I knew he wasn't going to rant anymore, I took my hand away and placed it back in my lap.

"It's okay, I'm completely single, Dustin. So you don't have to freak out about that." I told him. He shook his head again, "Dustin, seriously it's okay. I understand."

He looked confused, "How? Or rather, why?"

I wrung my hands together nervously and then looked up into his green eyes. Swallowing thickly, I finally answered him, "Because I like you too…" I whispered.

Dustin's eyes widened for the second time that night and I watched nervously as he ran a hand through his gelled hair, making it flatten back slightly. "You do?" he asked.

I nodded silently.

"How?" he asked. "Why? I don't…" he trailed off. "I don't understand…" he repeated.

I squinted my eyes at him, "What do you mean '_how'_ or '_why'_? I think it's pretty obvious." I said in a slightly annoyed voice. "How could you not understand? It's pretty simple. I _like_ you Dustin."

He just stared down at the ground and didn't say a word. After about five minutes of complete silence on his part, I was started to get frustrated and slightly irritated. So I stood up and began to walk away.

I turned around to see him staring at me with a helpless expression on his face, "Come find me when you understand and are ready to talk about what I just told you." I told him.

I turned around once more and didn't look back at him once. I needed to clear my head a little and the cool night air would help me. The talk hadn't gone the way that I had wanted it to at all. '_Why was it so hard for him to comprehend that I liked him too?_' I thought irritably. I sighed and petulantly kicked a small rock that was in my path. It had gotten dark during our talk and the automatic lanterns had turned themselves on and illuminated the path that I was taking.

I walked down the path in the garden for a while before I saw a miniature man-made pond with a small waterfall in the edge of the garden underneath a canopy of trees. Deciding that I wanted to go check the area out, I made my way around to the unlit area using the dim light from my cell phone to make sure that I didn't trip over anything or hit a rock or something. When I reached the pond, I sat down in the lush, green grass and leaned back to where I was laying on my back staring up at the trees that interrupted my view of the sky.

I felt my phone vibrate quietly in my pocket and so I picked it up, answering it without looking at the Caller ID. "Hello?" I asked.

"_Hey Mercy, it's Aisha. I just woke up, where are you_?" she asked me.

"I'm hanging out outside in the garden. I just wanted some alone time…to think about things, you know?" I explained. "I left you a note telling you I was going to be out for a little while."

"_I know, I found it earlier. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay_." she said in a concerned voice. "_You don't sound okay_…" she whispered.

I mentally cursed at myself. Of _course_ Aisha would be able to tell something was wrong. She _was_ my best friend after all. I chided myself for even trying to get away with it. "I'm fine, just kind of stressed about everything. Robb wasn't kidding when he said that this would stress us out." I joked.

"_Tell me about it, but it's proved to be worth it_," her voice sounded happy over the phone. "_I mean investigating was fun, the analysis was boring but the evidence that we caught was amazing. It was so much better than the random EVP's that we occasionally caught. That was _true_ evidence_." she gushed. "_Plus, we finally met Barry and Dustin. I mean we've always admired them from the TV and now we're met them and are actually working with them in real life_."

"Yeah, I know." I said monotonously.

Aisha sighed, "_Something happened with Dustin, didn't it? And don't even bother lying to me because not only do I know you're lying voice but I also know the voice that you are using right now. That is your _'some-guy-just-really-upset-me_' voice. I heard that voice many times over the past three or four years_. _I thought you told me that you were alone._" she accused me.

"I _am _alone. There is no one else here with me." I said truthfully. But then I frowned because once again, Aisha was too observant for her own good, "Nothing happened," I lied, "I just. I'm confused." But I did end up telling her _part_ of the truth. I didn't want to tell her everything because then I would have to tell her about the tape and I really didn't want to do that.

"_Confront him then_." Aisha replied simply.

I had, but I didn't tell her that. "I want to, but it might cause problems." I told her.

"_Ah_," Aisha replied with a sigh. "_I understand…well all I can say is that you two need to at least talk and try to work something out. The least you can do is just talk to him_."

"I know, I will." I promised.

"_Okay_," she said. "_Well, I'll let you go now. I think you have a lot to think about_."

"Yeah, so I'll see you later."

"_Bye_." she said before she hung up.

I flipped my phone shut and sat up, bringing my knees up to my body and wrapping my arms around them to hold me up. I rested my chin against my knees and let the slow, continuous sound of the running water relax me. I had been sitting there for quite a while when I got the sensation that something or someone was watching me.

I looked up and saw Dustin standing about ten feet away from me with his hands in his pockets and a sheepish grin on his face. I slowly stood up, dusting my hands off on my body and began to slowly walk towards him. When I finally came to a stop, I was only about a foot away from him. I wasn't moving anymore. He would have to close the rest of the space in between us on his own accord.

I shifted my blue eyes to look up at his dark green ones and when I did, I was happy with what I saw. He closed the rest of the distance between us in seconds and took my face in his hands. Then, he brought my face to his. I didn't protest in the least. In fact, I reveled in the feeling as my lips touched his. It was short and sweet but when we pulled away at the same time, we were both grinning like a couple of teenagers.

After standing still for a few moments with his hands still cupping my face, I reached up and wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled him to me forcefully this time, all the while smiling like an idiot. The only thing different was this time it wasn't just a simple peck. Dustin took my top lip in between his own while I took his bottom lip. I tilted my head to the side to get better access and when I did, we accidently bumped noses. We both froze and for a moment I wondered if I had just ruined everything. My thoughts were dashed though as Dustin tilted his head more the opposite direction so _that_ problem wouldn't happen again. At first it was a little awkward, but we eventually were able to into the sync of one another.

The time we stood there kissing was literally immeasurable to me. But, when we pulled away, we were both short of breath and were breathing heavily. It had gotten even darker while we were '_occupied'_ and now it was nearly pitch black all around us besides the soft glow of light that the lanterns offered us. I was somewhat chilly and started to shiver slightly. Dustin must have noticed because he removed his warm hands from my face and placed them on my arms, rubbing them up and down slowly. The path that his hands made left a fiery trail behind and I couldn't help but grin.

"You cold?" he asked.

I nodded, "A little, but it's alright…"

"So w-what are we?" he asked nervously.

I grinned, "Whatever you want us to be. I mean we don't know each other very well, but I like you and…and I want to be with you." I confessed shyly.

"I want to be with you to…"

"Good," I replied. I stepped forward and pressed myself against him, resting my head on his chest. "But, what should we tell the others? I mean, is it okay for us to even date? Will Robb or the other supervisors care?" I asked him seriously. It had been a thought that had been plaguing my thoughts since our first kiss just a few moments before.

"I-I don't know. But, if the fans get a hold of this, it will most likely be a complete nightmare for us." he said. "No privacy whatsoever…"

I replied, "So maybe we should just keep it between us for a while. I won't even say anything to Aisha."

Dustin sighed and rubbed my arms again, "That's probably our best choice. I mean, I don't like the fact of keeping this from the people who are like another family to me but I'm not for sure how Robb or the directors would take our…dating?" he said the last word with a bit of uncertainty.

I nodded my head firmly, "Yes, dating. If that's what you want."

"It is." he assured me. "I would take you on a date, but things will be busy until we take our season break. I'm not sure if we could ever get away—just the two of us anyways."

I lifted my head off his chest and instead, leaned forward so that I rested my forehead against his in complete bliss. "That's fine, this is fine…" I sighed.

Once again everything seemed so dreamlike and bizarre. Now, not only was I a member of GHI, I now was also dating _Dustin Pari_. I couldn't believe it. What was so special about me? I felt that at any moment I would wake up and everything that had happened in the last few weeks would be a simple dream. I hoped more than anything that it wouldn't, that everything was real and I wouldn't wake up.

Dustin smirked at me, "You aren't dreaming." he told me, lifting his head up slightly to kiss my forehead gently, I swear I almost swooned at the contact. I felt as if I was becoming a pathetic star struck teenage girl, even though I clearly wasn't. Everything that was happening felt so cheesy but, it felt so amazing at the same time.

"How did you know that I was thinking that I was?" I countered.

He kept his lips in contact with my forehead, speaking against it. "You're expression said everything that I needed to know." He sighed against me and his warm breath swirled around my face. The smell of candy and peppermints drifted into my nose.

I looked around us and sighed in discontent. It was obvious that we had been gone a long time and I was beginning to wonder if the others were wondering where we were. "Do you think the others have noticed that we've been gone?" I asked.

"Well, it depends. What time is it?"

I took my phone out of my pocket and gasped at the time. 10:00. I had met Dustin at 8:30, it had already been an hour and a half. "It's ten o'clock." I relayed to him. "It doesn't feel like we've been out here for an hour and a half."

He obviously agreed with me because he replied with, "Seriously?" Dustin's expression was incredulous, "Then someone has to have noticed our disappearance. We should go in now before they start wondering what we're doing out here." I started to pull away from him but his arms locked me in place, "They can wait a couple minutes though…" he whispered before bringing his mouth to mine in a slow kiss.

It was slow and delicate, his lips barely brushing mine. I knew he was doing it on purpose, he was teasing me. I reached my hands up and dug them into the hair in the back of his head, bringing his head closer to mine before pressing my lips harder to his. He returned my kiss by pressing his hands hard onto my hips and dragging me forward to where we were flush against one another. I grinned against his lips and tugged forcefully on his gelled hair, which was surprisingly soft considering all the products he probably dumped into it on a daily basis.

He finally pulled away and I groaned at the loss of contact, "We need to go back inside now. I just wanted to do that because we couldn't do that in front of the others."

"I don't really want to leave yet," I told him with a pout.

Dustin chuckled and ran his hands down my arms, "Sorry Mercedes, but you and I both know we need to head inside if we're going to keep this between us. But," he paused. "Hand me your phone for a minute." he instructed.

I handed him my cell phone, all the while giving him a suspicious look. I had no idea what he was up to. He flipped open my phone and smiled before he started typing something into it. Curious as to what he was doing, I stood up on my tip toes to try and get an idea of what he was doing. Unfortunately, Dustin was taller than me by almost half a foot and so he just turned around and shielded my phone from me with his body. I crossed my arms over my stomach and when he turned around I raised an eyebrow, "You better not have messed up my phone." I said lowly.

"I didn't, I just put my number into you're contacts list." he laughed. "That way you can text me later."

I grinned, "Oh, okay."

"Nice phone by the way," Dustin complimented, gesturing to my phone which was one of the new black _EnV Touch_'s. "Text the number I put in your contacts so I have your number." he told me.

I turned my phone on its side and flipped it open so I had access to the full keyboard. I scrolled to his contact, which just said '_Dustin'_and texted a blank message to the number that was provided. I was about to ask him if he had his phone on him when I heard a small buzz from his pocket. He reached inside his jeans and pulled out dark blue _LG Xenon_ and smiled before pressing a few of the buttons.

After he slid his phone shut and placed it back in his pocket he walked forward and slug his arm around my shoulder, "Come on, we need to get inside."

We walked the rest of the way through the garden like that, Dustin's arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders while I was tucked softly into his side. Although, we did separate once we reached the hotel's back door. We entered, with Dustin kindly holding the door open for me, and we made our way back to our separate hotel rooms.

The rest of the night passed by uneventful besides the fact that once I returned to my room, I immediately got a text from Dustin. The smile on my face caused Aisha to become curious but I didn't give in. I lied and told her it was an update from my little brother's _Facebook _that was really stupid. She seemed to have bought it and went back to the book she had been reading when I walked into the room. I happily crawled into my bed and sent Dustin a text back. Our pointless texting continued until nearly 2am when I finally let him go to get some sleep. I shut off my phone and then Aisha and I popped in a movie into my laptop and we both fell asleep on my bed with my laptop soon after.

The Wicklow's Goal case was finished and I wasn't sure what was to come ahead. All I knew was that this case was done and finished, yet I hoped that there was more to come. I had my best friend, as well as three new friends and a new boyfriend. Things were turning out just great for me and I was starting to finally accept that everything was real, it wasn't just a dream. I also knew that I was very happy with the way that the night had turned out.

I wasn't psychic and I had never claimed to be, but I had a good feeling—everything was going to turn out just fine in the end.

**THE END**?

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**_So, thoughts on the story :) Did you enjoy it? What do you hope to see in the next few investigations. I will always take suggestions for ideas to incorporate them into the story. And of course you will be credited for your ideas. So now it's your turn to type, leave me a review. Any silent readers out here, it's the last chapter. Show a girl some love please! See you again hopefully in a few weeks folks._**

**PS. _To satisfy your GHI/GH cravings, every Wednesday night on the _SyFy_ channel, there are two_ Ghost Hunters _and two_ Ghost Hunters International _episodes on :) Next week is the_ LAST (-author pouts childishly at this news-!) **_**GHI episode before GH comes back with the rest of Season Five! So make sure you don't miss it.**_**

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**

Skeleton In The Closet Preview_:_

**EDIT: So, for being such amazing reviewers, here is a little bit of what I have planned for the next installment of 'It's The Fear'. I have two short parts mainly because I couldn't choose between the two. So I'll let you see them both and you can have your take on what you think is happening :)**

**---**

Preview One: _Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I checked the caller ID and was a little shocked at what it read. I quickly brought the phone to my ear and pressed send, "Hello?" I said anxiously as my heartbeat picked up._

_"_Mercedes_!" Came a cracked voice from over the receiver._

_My heart leaped into my throat._

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Preview Two_: I ducked just in time and started running down the street. I could hear him as he took off after me. I felt like a stupid, running down the street of a historic town filled with historic buildings, but I didn't really care. I kept running until something out of the corner of my eye caused me to stop. While I was distracted, I felt two arms wrap around my waist and I sighed before I turned the camera in my hand around and took a self portrait. I waited a few moments before I turned the screen around to see the picture and gasped at what I saw...._

_

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_

**Again, thoughts? :) **


	8. SC: Part 1 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Oh my god, you guys have NO idea how happy I am to be back with the whole new segment of the story :) I've literally been busting my ass to get this done so I really hope you guys enjoy it. But before you start reading I do want to credit Dustin Pari because I wouldn't have been able to really type this out if it wasn't for his words and inspiration. No not LITERALLY, but damn I wish I would have really gotten to talk to him. Actually his blog really helped me get a feel for his whole nature as well as some of the things that happened on the trips that we didn't get to see :) So I have to give a HUGE credit to him for that. Also as you will notice, I did write the investigations but this segment will get a little off topic towards the middle (You'll see as we get there. I don't want to spoil anything for you guys!) You will also learn alot more about the team members in this segment (mostly Mercedes, Aisha and Dustin) but also keep in mind this is purely fictional so I'm basically making things up as I go. I don't know Dustin or the rest of the GHI in real life or really know alot about them other than a few things from interviews, biographies and stuff like that so bare with me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my portrayal and that I've done our favorite team justice! Anyways, that's enough of me jabbering away. On with part 1 :) Yay! Make sure to check my website for updates!_

_Happy Reading!_

_-_ RIP.

**EDIT: For anyone who hasn't watched GHI or Ghost Hunters before and isn't familiar with the happenings at Leap Castle, you may want to check out the short video on my website that's only about four minutes long that basically sums up what happened that night. In this chapter, there will be some references and throughout the rest of the story as well. :) So if you don't want to be confused, I advise that you check it out! Also, at the moment the quality is HORRIBLE but I'm working on fixing it right now so probably by the time you have read this and go to check it out, I hopefully will have that fixed. Thanks guys!**

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PLAYLIST:

___Happiness_

- by -

Goldfrapp

(**this song seriously makes me wanna bounce around! it's actually SyFy's theme song now :)**)

(**by the way, does anyone know why it went from being SciFi to SyFy?**)

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**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 1 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

"So Robb, what exactly would I do as the case manager? I mean, I know that I will set up the cases we go on, but I'm wondering if there is more to it than that." I confessed to Robb while taking a deep drink of the coffee I was holding in my hands. "How is it done exactly?"

It's been a little over a week since the reveal at Wicklow's Gaol. It's also been a week since Dustin and I got together. So far, things had been running smoothly both ways—my job and with Dustin.

As for my job, we hadn't gone on another investigation yet because we had to do a few promotional shoots, like taking pictures of the new team and such. Robb told us that after the first episode of the season, they gave us a little break to do promos and such before we started doing almost _weekly_ investigations. While we were waiting on the green light to go on another case, we were just sort of hanging out in Ireland having a blast getting to know each other. Robb had decided to take us out on a little mountain trail tour that was located just a few miles from the hotel. It had been a remarkable experience. The mountain air was amazing and the views were absolutely breathtaking as well. Barry had taken tons of pictures of the whole group and was going to post them on his _MySpace_ for us to look at.

Things with Dustin had been going smoothly as well. Every night, we would sneak away after dinner and meet each other in the garden behind the hotel. We would sit down by the little pond that I had found the week before and just talk. We talked about all sorts of things—our lives outside of GHI, things that we liked to do, all that stuff. We kissed a little here and there but for the most part the main part of what we did was trying to get to know each other better. We hadn't known each other for long and we were already in a relationship so it was a little difficult but we were getting by just fine. Another plus was that so far, no one suspected anything—which was _very_ good because Dustin and I both wanted to keep things that way.

When Robb finally looked up from his coffee mug to give me an answer to my previous question, he broke me from my Dustin infested thoughts, "Well, basically all you will have to do is go through the case offers that people have sent us. You pick out the ones that you think would be best for our team and then you take it us with me."

"Well that sounds simple enough," I replied. "But, where do I get the cases?"

"There should be lists of possible cases on our website and mostly likely on our email as well." Robb answered. "Speaking of which, I'll have to give you the password to our email so that you can access it." he explained.

I nodded, "Sure, sounds good."

After that, Robb and I fell into a nice silence as he continued to read his paper and I stared into my coffee cup. It was early in the morning and so far only Robb and I were awake and ready for breakfast. The night before, Robb had told us that he had announcement to give to all of us at breakfast the next morning. I had tried to cheat a little by asking Dustin about it. But, the strange thing was, Dustin knew no more about the surprise than I did. I was so keyed up about the surprise that I had gotten up a little earlier than normal, got dressed and ready to go for the day before everyone else was probably even awake. When I had walked to the lobby where the hotel staff served a continental breakfast, Robb was the only one down there. He was sitting at a table for six while sipping on his usual morning coffee and reading a newspaper. I had sat down across from as he lowered the paper and gave me a happy '_good morning'_.

It had been a few minutes since Robb had told me the case information. It was completely sad on how lost in my thoughts I could get at times. But, since I was a little bit bored, I decided to bug Robb and see if I could find out what he was going to tell us.

"Hey Robb?" I asked.

He looked up and narrowed his eyes at me. I couldn't see his entire face because the bottom half of it was hidden by the news paper, but he knew I was up to something because he replied with, "I'm not telling you Mercedes. You have to wait like everyone else." he said with a loud laugh.

I groaned, "How did you know I was going to ask?"

"Because you would never be up this early if you weren't curious or fishing for answers." He replied, giving me a friendly grin.

I shrugged, "Yeah, probably not…" I admitted.

"Hey, why don't you go and see if the others are up." Robb suggested. He looked down at his wrist watch, "It's about that time anyways—8am. If they aren't up already, they need to be now. This morning you get to be on wake up duty."

I fake saluted him as I stood up, "Aye, Aye Captain."

Robb chuckled as I walked away from the pretty much deserted table and made my way down the hallway to our rooms. The first room that I came to was Robb and Dustin's. Robb was already up, but I didn't know if Dustin was or not. I knocked on the door. The first time was soft, but when I didn't get an answer right away, I knocked harder.

When the door finally swung open, there stood a very tired looking Dustin, rubbing his eyes like he had just woke up. He had a plain grey t-shirt on and a pair of track sweats with his signature black sun visor worn backwards and flipped upside-down already placed on top of his head. His hair was also only partly gelled. I had to hold back my laughter because parts of it were sticking straight up while other parts were slicked down. It looked completely ridiculous. But, at the same time, I was also trying not to laugh about his hat. I didn't understand why he was already wearing his visor if he hadn't even finished his hair yet and had _just _woken up.

'_That damn thing is like a security blanket to him. He's _always_ wearing it_!' I thought.

"Are you my wake up call this morning?" Dustin asked me with a slight smirk, although it wasn't its usual radiant smile. I knew he was tired. We had stayed up texting until nearly 3am.

I nodded, "Sure am." I said, walking past him and into the room.

"Who said that you could just barge into my room?" Dustin said playfully as he shut the door and leaned against it.

"Robb," I retorted.

Dustin rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" I replied with a stern look. I walked up to him and poked his chest with my finger. "He assigned me for wake up duty this morning. Which means I have the right from your supervisor _and_ because I'm your girlfriend." I reminded him.

Dustin and I had only been together for a couple days, but I didn't really have a problem with calling him my boyfriend or saying I was his girlfriend. It was still unbelievable that he actually _was _my boyfriend but I didn't have an issue with saying it—to him anyways. Of course, we didn't say it in front of the others, but when we were alone, it wasn't much of a problem. Most people would take it slow for a while and kind of beat around the bush, but me being with Dustin, just felt natural. Other than that though, we _were_ taking it slow. We hadn't done anything more than just kiss a little here and there and hold hands. All the Junior High stuff. I don't think either of us was ready for more yet…or at least I wasn't.

"I see that," Dustin finally said, pushing my finger back from his chest so that I would stop jabbing him with it. "But, why are you up so early? Usually you would either still be getting ready or just waking up." he pointed out.

"I was curious. I woke up early and headed down to breakfast to bug Robb." I explained. "But, nobody was down there yet and Robb wouldn't give in and tell me what he needed to talk to us about. So, he ended up asking me to wake everyone up if they weren't already."

Dustin grinned, "I knew something was up when you asked me about Robb last night!" he said. "Were you trying to get information out of me?" he asked.

"Maybe," I answered.

He smirked down at me, "That's cheating."

"So!"

Dustin didn't reply, in words, that is. Instead he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. It was a sweet, good morning kiss. It wasn't anything big because again, we hadn't gotten that far yet. When we were together we spent most of our time just talking about investigations and our lives back home.

"Good morning," he said against my lips.

I pressed my lips against his a little more firmly, "Morning," I murmured back.

We both pulled away at the same time and smiled at each other.

"So you really don't know what Robb has to tell us?" I asked playfully.

Dustin groaned, "No baby, I really don't know what he has to tell us."

I sucked in a breath of air sharply. It wasn't a big deal, but Dustin had just called me '_Baby'_. It was a pet name. Usually I thought that pet names were stupid and cheesy, but I thought it was sweet coming from Dustin. Especially since I had a faint idea that he didn't even know he said it. Just like he didn't even realize it when he said, '_Brotha'_ or '_Dude'_ or '_Man'_ like he did on a daily basis. I decided not to point it out and changed the subject. I knew I had two other suites to visit and I knew that if I didn't leave now, it would probably be a while before I did.

"Well," I started as I changed the subject. "I need to go wake the others up. I just thought I'd come here first."

"Alright," he answered me. "I'll be down in a few."

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek goodbye before I opened the door and walked down to Barry and Joe's suite. When I reached it, I knocked firmly on the door. Both Joe and Barry were morning people, so I assumed they were already awake. Aisha, Dustin and I were the ones who didn't really like the mornings. We preferred to sleep in or in Dustin's case, spend an hour working on his hair. When the door opened, Joe stood behind it, "Good morning, Mercedes." he greeted. "You're up early."

I shrugged, "I know. I was curious on what Robb had to tell us. He sent me to do wakeup call this morning."

"Well, I was just getting ready to head down there myself. Barry already left…probably ten minutes ago actually." Joe informed me.

"Okay, that's good. Now the only person I have left to tackle is Aisha. I left her for last. I don't even know if she is up yet and honestly I'd like to prolong having to wake her up as long as possible…" I said with a slight shudder.

"Is she unpleasant in the mornings?" Joe asked, struggling to hold back his laugher.

I nodded, "You have _no _idea."

"Well, good luck." Joe said as he shut the door to his room and started down the hallway.

I walked in the opposite direction, towards mine and Aisha's suite. I took in a deep breath of air and unlocked my door and entered. To my surprise, all the lights were on.

"Hello?" I called out.

A voice came from the bathroom—Aisha's obviously. "In here."

I poked my head inside the bathroom and saw Aisha brushing a comb through her straight hair. Today she was dressed in a plain light brown shirt with a dark brown leather jacket over it. That was coupled with a pair of light wash jeans tucking into a pair of dark brown _UGG_ boots. Aisha looked really professional, while I looked kind of dressed down compared to her. I was wearing a black and white striped v-neck sweater shirt with dark wash jeans and a pair of black sandals. Over my sweater I had a black and white plaid jacket that I had gotten back when I was in my freshman year of college. It still fit me and I loved that thing like no other.

"You look great, Aish." I complimented her.

She turned and blushed, "Do you think Barry will like it?" she asked me while tucking her hair behind her ears nervously.

I nodded with a grin, "He'll love it." I told her truthfully. I was absolutely positive that Barry would love whatever she was wearing. She could be wearing a potato sack and he would still look at her like he does now. I had a feeling that they weren't exactly together yet because she probably wouldn't be asking me questions like that if they were. But then again, I could always be wrong.

She then uttered the question that I had been hoping to avoid, "So…" she said. "How are things with Dustin?"

I had to lie and I felt outright horrible about it, "Well, we're just becoming friends. I don't think he feels the same way as I do." I fibbed.

Aisha frowned, "That isn't true—well, the last part anyways. I _know_ he likes you. I can literally _feel_ it." she said.

I shrugged, "It's fine, Aisha."

"Since when do you not care? Last time we talked about this you were all upset about everything." she said while placing her hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me while she tapped her boot covered foot against the tile of the bathroom. "You're up to something." she said, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"No I'm not." I told her, lying once more. "I just got over it. I figured that pursuing him would cause problems within the team or even with the producers of the show. I figured it would just be too much pressure and that Dustin and I should just remain friends and nothing more."

I felt absolutely horrible about lying to the woman who was like my sister in every way possible, but I knew that Dustin and I couldn't tell anyone yet. We were just getting started, I didn't want to get ripped away from him already because of some stupid fine print on our contracts or by the disapproval of other cast mates or even our fans.

Aisha's mouth dropped in an '_o_' shape and a thousand emotions ran across her face at once. The one that stood out the most though was something unexpected.

_Fear_.

I wasn't sure what she had to be afraid about until she spoke, "Then is it really such a good idea for me to flirt with Barry or at least attempt to pursue him?" she asked quietly in a half broken voice there was something behind her tone though, I just couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Her voice sounded dead, like a broken record.

I instantly regretted my previous words. I had to make up for what I said.

"I didn't mean it like that, Aisha. I meant that about me and Dustin. You and Barry are a completely different story. It just isn't the right time for me, but I think it is for you. I mean, even if it was against the producers wishes, there isn't really anything they can do if they don't know about it. You know what they say, what they don't know what hurt them." I said firmly.

Aisha nodded but I knew that I had already planted a seed in her brain. Aisha wasn't one to worry much, but when something really upset her, it _really _upset her. I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't moping around for the rest of today. At that moment, I really wished that I had a control for my word vomit. It tended to ruin things.

"Come on," I said, walking over to her and putting my hands on both her shoulders. "Let's get down to breakfast. Everyone is waiting for us." I told her.

"Alright," Aisha responded. We retreated from the bathroom and I waited patiently while Aisha grabbed her purse and we made our way back to the lobby where I was sure everyone would be waiting for us.

"You know…" Aisha started out thoughtfully. "You have a birthday coming up in a couple days."

I stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw dropping. I had _completely _forgotten about my upcoming birthday. My birthday was literally in two days. Never in my life had I ever forgotten an important date, I was always well prepared and extremely organized. But, things had been so chaotic that the thought had completely slipped my mind. I probably would have actually forgotten about it completely if Aisha hadn't mentioned it.

Narrowing my eyes, I looked over to my best friend, "What are you up to?" I asked her. I knew she was up to something because she wouldn't have even brought it up if she wasn't.

"Nothing," she replied, trying desperately to look innocent.

I wasn't buying it for a damn second.

"Liar!" I countered.

Aisha smirked and took off down the hallway without another word. She didn't even bother to deny it.

"Don't…don't tell the others." I pleaded with her.

Aisha looked confused for a moment, tilting her head to the side. "Why not?"

I sighed in frustration, "Because honestly it's only my twenty-fourth birthday, it's nothing big and I don't want them to really make a huge deal out of it. I don't want the guys to feel obligated to throw me a party or to take me out to dinner or do anything special at all. If they would even do _that_." I explained to her.

Aisha nodded in understanding, "I get that Mercy, but it's your birthday. They will probably be upset if you _don't_ tell them." she warned.

"Fine but we will tell them _after _my birthday," I compromised.

She rolled her eyes, "Mercedes, that doesn't make anysense whatsoever."

I pouted, "I don't care…please promise you won't say anything until after Wednesday night."

Aisha reluctantly nodded, "Fine. But as soon as the clock hits Midnight, I'm finding Robb and telling him you forced me to stay quiet and if he gets mad then it's all your fault." she reasoned.

"And I accept that possibility." I replied firmly.

That seemed to please Aisha to an extent because she nodded and we continued our way down the hallway without any other fuss or stops. When we finally entered the lobby I led Aisha straight towards where I had left Robb. Sure enough, he didn't look so lonely anymore. Joe and Barry had taken their spots next to Robb while Dustin was sitting where I had previously been sitting before I left. I slid into the chair next to his while Aisha unceremoniously plopped down in the chair next to mine. I gave her a slight glare, warning her that she needed to keep quiet and not look so gloomy so that she didn't worry the guys. Luckily, she understood what I was trying to convey to her through my expression and she straightened up, painting a perfect smile on her face.

"Good, everyone is here now." Robb said, folding up his newspaper and setting it down on the table next to his now empty coffee mug.

Everyone looked at him anxiously as he cleared his throat and spoke, "I know all of you are very curious as to what announcement I'm going to make. As you know, I've asked Mercedes to be our new case manager. Now, usually it would be her job to set up the cases but there was a case that we were offered to check out that I just could not refuse." Robb said.

"Where is it?" Barry asked curiously, rubbing a finger on his chin in thought.

Robb grinned, "It's in the Czech Republic. It's called Cesky Krumlov. It's basically a castle and they have had all sorts of experiences there. I wanted to let you all know and then let Mercedes get to work checking into what exactly they've been experiencing and everything. I talked with the owner and she is expecting us down there on Wednesday. The producers and crew already know so everything has already been set up to go down there, all I had left to do is fill it in with you guys." he explained.

I ran a hand through my hair, "Wow, Robb that's amazing!" I exclaimed happily.

"Yeah it is!" Dustin added with a smile, "This case sounds awesome. Do you know it they have a lot of activity?" he asked.

Robb nodded, "I was going to let Mercedes look into that but I couldn't resist doing a little digging myself. I did some asking around and from what others have told me, the activity there is active and happens quite often. But, we'll be the judges of that, won't we?"

"Sure will, I can't wait. I've never been to the Czech Republic before." Aisha said, her hyper nature was back full blast, much to my contentment.

"Aish, until two or three weeks ago you had never been out of the United States, much less the Czech Republic." I pointed out.

Aisha shrugged, "That's not true. I lived in Spain for the first twelve years of my life, or have you forgotten that fact just because I lost my heavy accent?" she retorted, "Besides, not everyone can have rich mommy's and daddy's who will take them to Italy or France every summer vacation or buy them a _Louis Vuitton_ purse when they want one." she mumbled under her breathe so the others wouldn't hear.

I flinched at her comment. I hated when people brought up the fact that my family was ridiculously rich so it wasn't something that a lot of people knew. In fact, I wasn't even planning on telling the guys—much less Dustin. It wasn't that I was ashamed of it or anything, but people tended to treat me different once they found out just how rich my parents actually were—and it wasn't just my parents. It was the entire Culvert Family. We had a lot of old money from my great grandfather the notorious Italian Oil Tycoon to my uncle who was a world renowned surgeon amongst other things. Sure, people could usually I had money from the things I owned: _Dolce and Gabbana, Coach, Valentino, Chanel, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Alberta Ferretti, Burberry, Christian Lacroix, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Miu Miu_—the list could go on and on and on. Aisha had a lot of nice things, but most of the things were presents or something she earned the money for herself. My mother had a bad habit of seeing something cute when shopping and buying it for me without telling me first. She did it with Aisha too. It shows just how loved Aisha is in my family. That and my mother had a huge shopping addiction even though she was in her forties.

Of course I made also my own money, and it wasn't because of my family name either. I had busted my ass to get to where I was at the moment in my career and my parents seemed to respect that decision. Or, at least my father did. It wasn't as if I depended on my parents for my clothes or my cellphone bills, my car or even mine and Aisha's apartment. I paid for all that on my own. Sure, my parents bought me my car as my twenty-first birthday but I was the one who made all the down payments, insurance payments and any repairs on it. I liked being independent and not relying on my parent's money or the Culvert family name. Aisha knew that but sometimes things like her comment, '_Not everyone can have rich mommy's and daddy's who take them to Italy or France for their summer vacation or buy us a Louis Vuitton purse when we want one_' slipped out before she had the chance to take it back.

"That's not why I go to Italy or France you know it!" I hissed back at her.

I didn't just go to Italy or France for the heck of it. My grandmother and mother were French and had actually grown up in France while my grandfather was Italian. My grandfather had met my grandmother while on a tourist trip to Paris and had fallen in love and gotten married literally within a few months of meeting each other. A few years later, my mother was born. They lived in Paris for nearly thirty years when they decided to move to America. It was then that my mother met my father, who was simply just American. Because of our foreign family roots, we often took summer trips to France to my grandmother and mother's homeland to visit family who still lived in Paris and occasionally traveled to Italy to visit my grandfather's resting place. Although he had lived in Italy, France as well as America, he had insisted before he passed that he be buried in his hometown in Italy. Once he had passed away, my grandmother had followed his wishes and had him buried in Italy.

Aisha and I had both grown quiet after the exchange, me thinking about my home life while Aisha had a guilty look on her face. Luckily, the only one who noticed was Barry and he swiftly changed the subject, "So, Robb how long do you suppose the drive is from here to the Czech Republic?" Barry asked.

Robb rubbed his chin, "I'd say it'll probably take us a day and a half. We'll probably have to stop overnight unless we just switch drivers halfway." he said.

"I don't mind driving for a while," Dustin volunteered.

"Me either." Joe chimed in.

Robb smiled, "Well that makes things a lot easier on us. It still will probably take a day and a half to two days but it all depends on traffic. We'll want to leave sometime this afternoon, possibly around three or so?" he questioned. Nobody voiced any objections so he continued, "That'll give you all time to pack up and will give Mercedes and I some time to go over the case so I can get her prepped and show her how to really be a case manager."

"That's fine with me," I told Robb.

"Alright, after we eat we'll stay down here a while and we can go over the case info together." he replied. He then clapped his hands together, as if to dismiss the conversation, "Well then I say we all grab some chow because I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and deserted the table to grab our plates and get food. The hotel had all sorts of food to eat. They had some Irish breakfast foods, which were actually pretty tasty, as well as some old American favorites like biscuits and gravy. I always looked forward to going down in the hotel for breakfast because honestly, it was delicious.

Breakfast was a fun affair. The six of us sat at the table eating and chatting idly about whatever conversation came up. We all agreed that coming back to Ireland someday to do more cases was a must which seemed to please Barry as Ireland was where he was from. The highlight of the morning was when Robb and Dustin got into a little spat. Robb got pleasure out of teasing Dustin and although Dustin knew it was all in good humor, he was always ready to retort to Robb's taunts.

'_It's just too bad that Dustin's just way too defensive over his hair and Robb knows that_.' I sniggered as I watched the scene unfold right before my eyes.

"So Dustin…when are you going to outgrow the 'I-got-the-shock-of-my-life-this-morning-and-attacked-my-hair-with-a-can-of-hairspray' look?" Robb said casually as he started to dig into his breakfast after everyone had been seated once more.

The look on Dustin's face was priceless. "It does not look like that!" he exclaimed, bringing one hand up to his gelled hair.

Robb sniggered, "Yes it does. But anyways, that's a pre-teen look."

Dustin shook his head in disagreement, "No it's not."

Robb looked at me and smirked, "Mercedes, didn't you once tell me that your brother outgrew that stage before he even hit high school?"

I glared at Robb, "Don't you dare bring me into this." I said, holding my hands up.

"It's true, that's what she told me." Robb said to Dustin, ignoring my protest.

Dustin disregarded Robb and instead look at me, silently demanding that I explain what Robb was talking about.

I sighed, "Okay fine, when my brother was a pre-teen he used to gel his hair into spikes. But, it would take him so long to get it perfect that he ended up being late almost every single day. So my mom ended up taking away all his gel and refusing to buy him more. Plus she thought that it looked completely ridiculous, but then again my mother is a very picky person—you'd just have to meet her to understand. Anyways, end of story."

Everyone chuckled except for Dustin, who was narrowing his eyes at Robb, "You wouldn't…" he said threateningly.

Robb smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Oh contraire, I think I just might."

Dustin groaned, "I can always buy more gel if you toss mine out." he argued.

"Not if I don't let you borrow one of the vans." Robb countered.

"I can always walk. We _are _in town after all." Dustin replied.

Robb thought for a moment, "I could always make you clean and reorganize all of the equipment. Then I could make you hand wash the vehicles to keep you busy."

I rolled my eyes, "Robb stop it. Just leave Dustin's hair alone so we can get through our breakfast unscathed."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robb agreed in a begrudged manner while Dustin flashed me a smile of thanks. I turned back to my plate of food and dug in. Thankfully, the rest of our breakfast went on from that without any further incidents. Robb decided to keep his teasing Dustin to a minimum and instead he and Barry got into quite a lengthily discussion on the Czech Republic. Aisha listened to the whole conversation in earnest but after a while I noticed that every few seconds, her gaze would flicker down to Barry's lips and I knew that she probably wasn't even thinking about the conversation that they were having. As for Joe, Dustin and I, we attempted to carry on our own conversation. We chatted idly about Ireland and how we hoped to visit again soon because I think that we honestly had had an amazing time in Wicklow. I decided that it was on my 'to-do list' that I would come back someday.

'_On my own, without _mommy_ and _daddy's_ help_,' I added in my head somewhat sarcastically.

Once breakfast was finished up, Aisha, Barry and Joe returned to their rooms to pack up their stuff to leave later in the afternoon while I followed Robb and Dustin to their suite. Robb and I were going to go through the case information and show me how to review cases that we were asked to go on and investigate.

It only took about two hours for Robb and I to sit down and go over the offers on the teams email and website. We decided that after the case in the Czech Republic, we would travel back to Northern Ireland to check out this supposed haunted manor house that was in one of the most haunted places in Northern Ireland. The entire time Robb and I were messing around on the computer, Dustin was lying sprawled out on his bed giving me teasing glances every once and a while. He had started packing as soon as we had returned to the suite, but it didn't take him long. Now he was trying his hardest to distract me without making Robb suspicious. I tried my hardest to ignore it but I couldn't help it that all I wanted to do was go over and kiss him more than anything.

I was relieved when Robb announced that we were finished going over the cases and that I was free to return to my room to pack. I was about to walk out the door when I heard Dustin tell Robb that he was going to go for a walk since he was done packing. I left the room and patiently waited for Dustin to leave the room as well. He exited the room a few minutes later with a jacket on and tennis shoes adorning his feet.

"Hey," I said as he exited.

He smirked, "Hi."

"Are you really going on a walk?" I asked curiously.

Dustin laughed quietly, "Well, I might but I'd like it if you would join me. We won't get to spend much time together the next two days if we're going to be in a car all day long." he told me.

I nodded, "Sure, sounds like a plan."

We quickly walked out of the hotel through the back entrance like always and walked over to where our little pond was. We sat down in the shade against one of the large canopy trees. Dustin sat down first and then I cuddled up against his side as he wrapped his arm around me. He pushed my hair away from my neck and leaned down and gave it a single open mouthed kiss.

I giggled, "What was that for?"

Dustin shrugged, "I dunno, just felt like it."

I sighed and decided to let it go. I changed the subject, "Well, what do you think about the new case in the Czech Republic? Robb said that he'd give us the case information on the drive down today."

Moving around slightly, Dustin's free hand reached down to the grass and started pulling pieces out of the ground one at a time. My hands subconsciously zeroed in on his hand as he spoke, "I don't know. I'm pretty excited I guess, but I'll have to look through the information before I decide for sure on how I feel about it."

"I'm the same way but I'm actually pretty excited for it. The Wicklow's Gaol case was amazing. I've never done anything like that. It was definitely a new experience." I told Dustin.

"Well, you have plenty of those to come. Trust me, that was _nothing_ compared to some stuff that we will probably go to eventually." he replied.

I sighed, "I know." Dustin gave me a confused look and gestured for me to continue. I reluctantly explained. "Aisha and I used to watch GHI and Ghost Hunters all the time." I confessed. "Some of the cases you guys went on were amazing."

"So you are a _Ghost Hunters_ groupie?" he teased me.

I scowled at him, "No! I was just a big fan of the shows."

His chuckled and moved his face closer to mine, "Oh really now…what was your favorite episode?" he asked me trivially.

For a moment I had to think about my answer to his question. I had seen every single episode of both shows but I had never really stopped to think about which episode my favorite actually was. A thought popped into my head, I knew which one it was but I wasn't sure how to tell Dustin which one actually was my favorite. He would probably think I was extremely silly or he might get pissed.

I guess I had been silent for a while because Dustin spoke, "Come on, if you are such a big fan then it should be easy to pick out your favorite."

"Not really, there were so many good episodes." I explained. "But I think that I do know my favorite one."

Dustin grinned, showing me his shiny white teeth. "And that would be…?" he trailed off, waiting for me to answer it myself.

"_Attack of the Irish Elemental_," I murmured.

It was completely silent after I spoke. I had previously been looking down at the grass below me and when Dustin didn't reply for a long time, I looked up to see him frowning slightly with his eyebrows pulled together in complete confusion, "Why was the episode at Leap Castle your favorite?" he asked finally. "I don't…understand…"

"Because I think it was one of the scariest cases that you guys went on." I said truthfully.

Dustin shivered slightly, "Trust me. Leap Castle _was_ the scariest case I ever went on. I never want to go through that again." he said. "But, I don't understand why it was your favorite just because it was scary."

"I don't really know either but for a long time, I used to watch that episode over and over again after it first premiered. When you and Tango were up in the Bloody Chapel provoking, it actually scared me a little bit. I never was actually scared during a TAPS investigation before but that one…actually scared me. After watching the episode, I dug into the history of the place. Its story is one that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years, back to the medieval times. I have to say, it has one of the most fascinating histories I've ever read up on before."

"The history was dark and very old," Dustin agreed. "And I'm not going to lie because I found it very interesting too. We all did. I really did like the case, but whatever shoved me down that night…" his voice broke out and his eyes glazed slightly as if he was reliving the memory of the investigation. His bowed his head, hiding his face from me.

I squirmed in his grasp, moving to where I was sitting on my knees, facing his side. I reached my hand out and grasped the side of his face, turning it so he would face me directly. His eyes shined with unshed emotion and a soft pink blush started to tint his cheeks. Wordlessly, I reached out and gathered him in my arms, ignoring the fact that his visor was poking into my arm slightly. Before long, I felt his strong arms constrict around me, clinging to my very presence. I could feel him tremble slightly but I could also tell that he wasn't crying, just trying to fight off the fearful memories of that night.

"I think that what happened that night will always haunt me," I heard him mumbled against my shoulder.

I reached one of my hands up and sunk it in his spiky hair, rubbing his scalp soothingly. "Probably," I replied. "That was a life changing experience. Dustin, you were _attacked_ and _thrown down_ on the ground by something that wasn't even technically there. But, it did if for a reason. It wasn't as if it just came from no where and tackled you to the ground. You angered it by provoking. Barry warned you boys to be careful but you and Tango didn't listen. It was a lesson learned that you need to be careful when dealing with inhuman spirits. You need to respect them or else bad things can happen."

I felt Dustin nod his head very slightly. "I feel so pathetic that a memory can undo me so much." he whispered.

"No, you shouldn't. It was a terrifying experience and I won't lie to you, if that was me and no you up there in that chapel, I wouldn't have been able to go back and investigate again. Ever." I told him. I pulled back slightly and pressed my finger tips to his olive toned face, "You are so strong, Dustin. You really, really are." I ground out firmly, hoping desperately that he would take my words to heart.

I nearly cried in relief when a soft smile began to form on his thin lips, "Thank you Mercedes, truly." He hugged me to him tightly and I snuggled my head into his neck before bringing my nose to his collarbone and breathing in his clean, soapy scent with just a hint of sweetness. It reminded me of _Starburst_. He did have an addiction to candy after all.

I had finally gotten completely relaxed in Dustin's arms once again when suddenly I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled myself away from Dustin and pulled my phone out. I checked the caller ID and was a little shocked at what it read. Dustin tried to get a look at who it was but I quickly brought the phone to my ear and pressed send, completely forgetting that he was even with me, "Hello?" I said anxiously as my heartbeat picked up.

"_Mercedes_!" Came a cracked voice from over the receiver.

* * *

**_Hmm, so do you think you have any idea who the call is from? You'll probably NEVER guess but the person who does correctly gets a virtual hug and a mention in the authors note in part two :) lol. sorry, i can't offer you much else over the internet. lol. Also, so what do you think of the new chapter. Good, bad? You tell me. And what about Mercedes secret life. Did that surprise anyone? I made hints of it in Wicklow's Gaol but I'm not sure if anyone caught it. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and now I hope you leave a review because hey, I worked really hard to get this done for you guys. Show a girl some love please! _**


	9. SC: Part 2 of 11

**Authors Note: **_Hey everyone, thanks for the awesome positive response to the first chapter :) I'm glad that you all enjoyed it! So nobody guessed correctly who called Mercedes I'm sorry to say but some of you were VERY close. Anyways, as always make sure to check out the website for new outfits, and to see the promo video if you haven't seen it yet. I also have a second one posted on my LJ :) It's actually my favorite one but I can't post it on my website because it's not a Youtube video. Anyways -- enough chit chat coming from me. On with the story! I hope you all enjoy Part Two! Also, don't be afraid to send a review. I accept anonymous reviews so even if you don't have an account on here, feel free to tell me what you think anyways :)_

_Happy Reading,_

_- RIP._

_PS. Someone mentioned in Part One that the chapters are long. I do apologize for that but just to warn you, the chapters is this segment WILL indeed be very long. I think there is only one chapter out of eleven that is under 6,000 words. But hey, that means more to read and more to satisfy right? :) _

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**PLAYLIST:**

_I Wish You Were Here_

- by -

Incubus

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 2 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Wicklow, Ireland 2009**_ -

_I checked the caller ID and was a little shocked at what it read. Dustin tried to get a look at who it was but I quickly brought the phone to my ear and pressed send, completely forgetting that he was even with me, "Hello?" I said anxiously as my heartbeat picked up._

"_Mercedes!" Came a cracked voice from over the receiver. _

"Ayden!" I cried.

I felt Dustin tense beside me when I uttered Ayden's name but didn't pay any mind to it. I was too excited that Ayden had actually called, but at the same time, I was actually kind of worried. His voice told me that something was the matter. My heart sped up and stopped all in the span of a few seconds. I wasn't sure why in the hell I was getting myself so worked up. Maybe it was because of the fact that Ayden never called me. _Never_. The only times he ever called my phone was if it was an emergency. My overreacting thoughts immediately came up with a long list of things that could've happened.

The line was dead silent for a long time. Only the sound of his heavy breathing could be heard. Then finally, after what seemed like forever on my side of the line, he spoke, "_How are you doing out there_?" Ayden asked me quietly.

I sighed, "Uhm…it's great. I'm in Ireland right now but I'm getting ready to leave for the Czech Republic in a couple hours." I told him.

"_The Czech Republic_?" his voice came out in an incredulous manner. I could just see him running his hand through his jet black shaggy hair. "_What's in the Czech Republic_?" he asked curiously.

I snorted, "A haunted castle."

"_Obviously, I mean you aren't going to go to a non-haunted location, you are a Ghost Hunter after all_." he reported playfully. His voice sounded much more relaxed—not at all like the broken voice that I had heard over the phone.

I had really missed the playful banner between Ayden and I. It had only been a couple weeks, but I found myself growing extremely homesick. I found myself missing Whitefield and going to my parent's house for a Sunday afternoon lunch despite the long drive I had to make to get there. I even missed messing around with my _little brother_ like I was _now_. I missed all of it.

"So is there a reason behind this call or are you just trying to bug me or something?" I asked teasingly.

I heard his booming laugh and had to pull the phone away from my ear, "_Can't a little brother call his big sister to have a little chat every once in a while_?" he asked.

A smirk crossed my features, "Normally yes, but in your case, no. You never call, so what's up? I know it's something." I pushed. There was a few moments of silence before I finally heard him mumbled something, "What was that little brother?" I asked with my smirk still in place. As the words left my mouth I finally felt Dustin relax behind me. It hadn't crossed my mind that I hadn't told him about Ayden so he would obviously be a little curious as to who _Ayden_ actually was.

Ayden mumbled something else—breaking me from my other thoughts. It sounded like he was cursing under his breath at me. "I didn't quite catch that." I added in for the fun of it.

"_I said……I miss you. There, I said it. I miss my big sister. Are you happy now_?" he spat in an exasperated tone.

"Yes, quite. It's nice to know that you show some form of emotions. Usually you are off in your room sulking like a little emo kid or messing around with your precious _Black Beauty_." I giggled. Actually, that wasn't completely true because Ayden was usually a pretty cheerful person although, he did have his brooding moments.

I heard him gasp, "_You did not just insult_ Black Beauty!"

"It's a guitar…" I trailed off, stressing the word 'guitar'. "It won't care if it gets insulted because it won't know. It doesn't have ears or anything."

I heard a soft snort come from beside me and saw Dustin trying hard to hold back his laughter. I reached down and grabbed one of his hands in mine, twining our fingers together. Once Dustin had relaxed after hearing Ayden was just my little brother, he had switched from his previous position. He was now comfortably leaning back against the tree with his eyes closed and one hand behind his head while the other was held lightly in my grasp.

"_Whatever, you're just jealous because you can't play the guitar. You tried and epically failed_." Ayden retorted.

I frowned, bringing up the memory in my mind of when Ayden and I had decided to take guitar lessons back when I was in High School and he was in Junior High. Ayden had excelled quickly while I struggled with the simplest things, like strumming the damn piece of equipment. I was much better at singing than playing an actual instrument. Ayden never let me forget about how horrible I was at guitar and how good at it he was. When he entered High School, he formed a band. To this day they still played at local bars and were quite popular in our hometown area.

Ayden and I chatted about his band for a while. Since I had brought up _Black Beauty _(aka, his guitar) I decided to ask him about the band. Ayden and his three best friends, Parker, Brice and Seth, were part of a hard rock band called _Empty Threat_. Ayden played the guitar and sang vocals, Parker played bass, Brice played lead guitar and back up vocals while Seth played the drums. I was close to both my brother _and _the three guys which was a surprise to most people. I went to all of their shows and helped get them advertised and was in charge of booking shows. I was an extremely organized person while Ayden was the complete opposite. Come to think of it, Ayden and I were complete opposites. No one really even believed that we were related until we told them and even then, they had a hard time believing it.

I could understand why people didn't believe us though. Ayden and I acted completely different. Don't get me wrong, I am a cheerful person who likes to have fun, but Ayden takes it to a whole new level. He is up for just about anything, call him an enthusiast. When Ayden is in a mood, it is extreme. Usually he has two moods. He is either extremely happy, jubilant and excited or he is extremely moody and brooding. He isn't bipolar, he just has strong emotions. Ayden was horrible at hiding his emotions but I was an expert at it. While I had dark auburn hair and blue eyes, Ayden has jet black hair with blonde accents and dark hazel eyes. I had a simple clean look to me while Ayden had more of a grungy and 'emo' style to him because of the band. I always was teasing Ayden calling him emo, even though he really wasn't. He just looked the part, he didn't act it.

As I chatted with my brother, I noted that Dustin's breathing had gotten heavier and I figured that he had fallen asleep against the tree while I gossiped with Ayden. I grinned at the thought and removed my hand from his before standing up to give Dustin a chance to rest. I didn't go far and instead walked a few feet closer to the pond and took off my shoes and socks, placing my feet carefully in the cool water. It was a little chilly, but not that bad. The entire time I was doing this, I listened to Ayden tell me excitedly about how they had done a lot of a really good performances over the past few weeks. I was disappointed that I had missed them but Ayden told me happily that he had one of his friends videotape it for me. That nearly brought tears to my eyes.

"You know, despite the fact that you're my little brother and you can be a twerp at times, you aren't all that bad." I said softly.

Ayden chuckled over the line, "_I knew that you would hate missing the shows. Chloe was happy to do it anyways._" he said, shrugging it off as if it was no big deal.

"Chloe huh?" I asked teasingly. Chloe was one of Ayden's friend's twin sisters. Ayden had always had a thing for her but never told her. I thought it was cute and often teased him about it.

"_Yes, Chloe did it. It was no big deal_. _Just drop it, sis_." he said again.

"Well, thanks anyways." I replied.

After Ayden told me about how he and the band was doing, he brought up the subject that I had really hoped that he had forgotten. "_So, what are you going to do about your birthday_?" he asked. "_It is in two days after all_."

I sighed and picked up a pebble, throwing it into the water, "I don't know Ayden. I think I'm going to be on an investigation that day so it doesn't matter." I said nonchalantly.

"_What do you mean it doesn't matter_!" he exclaimed. "_You're turning twenty-four_!"

"So?"

"_How can you not be excited_?" he asked.

I groaned, "Ayden it's just a number…" I told him in a flat voice.

"_Mom and Dad don't think so. They were going to plan a grand old party for you just like every year_." he teased.

For a moment, I took a few seconds to think about his words. Memories flashed before my eyes of all the parties my parents had thrown over the years. They were rich, they had lots of friends and they liked to entertain. Although, their idea of entertaining was quite a bit different than mine. I was actually kind of happy that I wasn't going to be home to suffer through another party.

"They throw a party for me every year," I pointed out stiffly. "And they do the same for you. The only difference is that I don't sneak out half way through when all the adults are too buzzed to notice that the center of the party is gone. Unlike you, I try and respect them, even if they are drunk out of their minds and start trying to do karaoke on our parent's mini-bar." I said, giggling slightly at the last comment.

Ayden laughed freely at my comment, "_God, I will never forget Aunt Marisa doing that at your twenty-first birthday party. Only she could jump on top of the mini bar and start singing "Best Days of Your Life" to all of your guests. What can we say, our parents have crazy friends—especially when you put alcohol into them_."

"That will definitely be a night that I'll always remember. But I mean, I'm happy that I won't have to go to a boring party, but at the same time it's going to be weird not celebrating my birthday with the whole family." I told him truthfully.

"_At least you'll have Aisha_."

I bit my lip, "Yeah, but I made Aisha keep quiet about it so the guys don't know when it is either. So basically my birthday will go by in two days without any of them knowing. That's the day of our investigation as well so it's probably a good thing if they don't know."

"_I wish we could be there with you, at least for your birthday_." Ayden said sadly.

I felt my lip trembling slightly, "I wish that you guys were here too but you guys are back in the States and I'm getting ready to head out in a few hours. It's just not going to work out this year. I can't fly home and miss the investigation when I _just _started GHI." I explained.

"_That's not what I meant_…" Ayden replied. He sounded thoughtful, like he was up to something. "_What if I flew out there myself to see you? I have the money for a plane ticket and after your investigation is over we could go out to dinner for your birthday, me, you and Aisha. You could even bring your other crew members if you wanted_." he offered.

My heart beat raced up a bit. It was a good plan, but I would have to ask Robb about it and if I did that, I would have to tell him _why _my brother was flying out to see me. I made a quick pro and con lists and the pros heavily outweighed the cons. "It's a great idea, Ayden." I told him. "But I'll have to talk to Robb about it first."

I could practically hear him grin over the phone, "_Well talk to him and then call me and let me know_."

"I will," I promised.

"_Well_," Ayden said finally, "_I should probably get going. You need to pack and I need to stop running up my international bill_." he joked.

I smiled, "Okay, I'll call you as soon as I know for sure. Make sure to tell Mom and Dad hi for me and ask them if they want to come as well. Bye Ayden. Love you." I said.

"_Will do_," Ayden replied. "_Oh and I love you too, sis_."

I heard the phone click and knew that he had hung up. I pressed the red button, ending the call and placed my phone back in my pocket. I heard a throat clear just seconds after. Surprised, I turned to see Dustin staring at me with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed. '_Shit_!' I thought. '_He heard me_?' I thought in a panicked way. I knew I was in trouble.

"How come you didn't want to tell us your birthday is in two days?" he asked me.

"I thought you were sleeping…" I mumbled, ignoring his question that I really didn't want to answer.

Dustin shook his head, "No, I was just resting and when I overhead you tell your brother about keeping your birthday from us, I was a little troubled." he told me.

"I'm sorry Dustin, it's just…my birthday is the day of the investigation and I don't want you guys to even worry about it being my birthday. Honestly, it's not a big deal." I said.

I watched as he frowned, "It's your birthday. It's got to be a _little bit_ of a deal." he argued.

Shrugging, I shook my head lightly, "Not to me. It's just turning a year older. I mean, I'm going to miss my family but other than that…it's completely fine with me if no one even bothers with the fact that it's my birthday."

"What did Ayden want you to talk to Robb about then?" Dustin asked.

I shrugged once more, "He wanted me to ask Robb if it was okay if he flew in for a few days so he can see me and take me out to dinner after the investigation was over. Ayden has his own money from his hand and I think that even if Robb says no, Ayden will fly out anyways and do everything on his own." I said. "Ayden is stubborn like that."

"I don't think Robb will have much of a problem with it, especially if Ayden takes care of everything by himself—like the flight arrangements and all that." Dustin reasoned.

"You think?" I asked.

He simply nodded in reply.

"Should I go talk to him now?"

Again, Dustin nodded. He wordlessly held out his hand to help me up and then together we left the garden. As we left, I turned and took one last look at the place where Dustin and I had been sneaking to for the past week. It was sad to say that I was going to miss our little rendezvous spot.

Dustin noticed my longing stare and poked me in the side, "Cheer up, we can always come back someday." he told me.

"I know," I replied softly.

We walked hand in hand until we reached the back door. Then, like always, we dropped our hands and walked in separately. I decided to stop by my room first to pack my stuff and talk with Aisha about the conversation I had with Ayden and then after all that was done, I was going to talk to Robb. Dustin and I murmured goodbyes to each other as I entered my room and he continued quietly down the hallway towards his suite.

When I entered the suite, I found Aisha sitting on the bed curled up with a box of tissues watching the TV screen with a heartbroken look on her face. To say I was a bit shocked at the scene before me was a bit of an understatement.

"What are you doing?" I asked loudly.

Aisha jumped from her spot on the bed and looked down sheepishly, "I uhm—I was watching this sitcom…" she mumbled.

"I take it that it was a depressing sitcom?" I asked while placing my hands on my hips and narrowing me eyes. "Or was it something else?" I prodded.

She looked up at me and shook her head, "Honestly, this has nothing to do with Barry if that's what you think. It really was a sad show…and I kind of…well I miss home a bit." she sniffled.

I ran over and hugged her, "I miss home too." I said.

"Really? It's not just me then?"

I laughed, "No it's not just you. Ayden called me today and it got me thinking…" I trailed off.

Aisha held up her hand, stopping me from continuing, "Wait—Ayden called you? Is everything alright back at home?" her voice sounded worried.

I nodded, "Yeah, everything is just fine. He was just missing me and wanted to talk to me about my birthday…" I trailed off.

She raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" Aisha giggled.

"Yeah, he wants to fly out here to spend some time with me after the investigation is over. I told him I'd have to talk to Robb about it though. What do you think?" I asked.

Aisha shrugged, "I don't know. I don't see why Robb would have a problem with it as long as they don't bother you when you're working."

"Yeah that's what Dustin said." I blurted out.

Aisha's eyes narrowed as my face lit up with a slight blush. '_Fuck_!' I chastened myself. '_If I don't fix this…this could ruin everything_!' I thought.

"What do you mean, '_That's what Dustin said_'?" Aisha asked sternly. "Are you hiding something from me?" she accused, pointing her finger at me.

I shook my head firmly, "I ran into him in the hall," I lied. "I asked his opinion on it."

"Then why are you blushing?"

I really wanted to kick myself for my darn tendency to blush at the littlest things, "You know I blush over everything," I reasoned. "I'm not hiding anything from you. I was just blushing because I was thinking of how cute he looked today."

'_It's not a _complete_ lie. I did think he looked really cute today_…' I told myself.

"Oh," Aisha replied. Sitting back down on the bed and started picking up her tissues before throwing them in the trashcan between our beds, "I should have known. You're my best friend. If something happened with Dustin, you would tell me…" she said.

I shuffled slightly, turning away from her and making my way to my bed where my suitcases were sitting and ignoring her words. I guess Aisha had dragged my suitcases out for me and put them on my bed because the last time I had checked, they were in the suite's closet. I didn't answer Aisha and instead started packing up my clothes.

"Wait…." Aisha started. I almost groaned, "You _would_ tell me, right?" she asked.

I turned around and plastered a smile on my face, "Of course I would." I lied. "I could never keep anything big from you."

Aisha nodded, satisfied with my answer and transfixed her eyes on the TV, continuing to watch the sitcom. I decided to continue packing. As I was folding up my clothes and placing them neatly inside the suitcase, I realized that I felt horrible. I got a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. '_Liar_!' It shrieked at me.

I tried my best to ignore the feeling and continued packing up my stuff. It didn't take me too long as I really didn't take much out of my suitcase without putting it back in later. I tried to stay as organized as possible so that I wouldn't lose anything. The only things that I really didn't have packed up already were my toiletries in the bathroom. But, packing all that up only took about five minutes. After scavenging around and not finding any loose items that I had forgotten to pack, I decided that I hadn't left anything behind.

"Hey, Aish?" I called out from near the door. I heard a sniffle and assumed that there was a sad part of the sitcom, "I'm going over to Robb's for a minute to talk to him about Ayden." I told her.

The only answer I got was the sound of someone blowing their nose. I scrunched my own nose up in slight disgust as I grabbed the key off the little table near the door and left the suite.

I walked quickly down to Robb and Dustin's suite and knocked on the door. I heard voices inside and then Robb flung open the door and eyed me with surprise, "Did you forget something?" he asked.

"No," I told him. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something…" I told him.

Dustin took the opportunity to peak his head around the corner, "Hey Mercedes." he said with a knowing grin.

I grinned back, "Hey."

"Well, what did you need to talk to me about?" Robb asked me, interrupting mine and Dustin's stare down.

"Well, my birthday is Wednesday, the night that we start the investigation." I started off.

I watched as Robb's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Why didn't you tell us before?" he asked accusingly.

"I didn't want it to be a bother, especially when I found out that it was the night of our investigation. But, my younger brother called me today and wanted to know if it would be alright for him to fly out here on his own and see me after the investigations done. That is, if we'll be out there for a couple extra days like we were here in Wicklow." I explained.

Robb scratched his chin in though, "Well we'll be starting the investigation Wednesday night, then Thursday we'll all be catching up on sleep. Friday you have analyzing and then Saturday is the reveal. We'll be in the Czech Republic until Tuesday so if he really wants to fly over and spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday with you, I don't see any problem with it." Robb told me with a smirk.

"Really?" I squealed slightly.

Robb smiled, "Really."

"Thank you so much." I told him graciously. "I have a feeling that even if you would have said no, Ayden would still fly out to see me. He already told me that he is going to pay for all his own expenses so that won't be a problem. He just wanted to take me out to dinner one night but he'll be thrilled to know that he has three days with me." I said, mostly to myself.

"It's no problem," Robb said. "I can give him the information for the hotel so that he can book rooms in the same hotel as us if you want me too." he offered.

"That'd be fantastic. I have to call him back really quick first to let him know your answer." I told him.

Robb smiled, "We can fax all the info over to him before we leave. Oh, speaking of which, are you finished packing?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah both Aisha and I are finished. Aish is just back in the room watching TV. Do you know if Joe and Barry are ready?" I inquired.

"Yeah, they've been done and ready for a while. Why don't you call your brother and then when you are done, you can go collect Aisha while Dustin and I get Barry and Joe so we can all meet for a quick lunch before we check out and then head out." Robb suggested.

"Sure, sounds good." I said and with that, I exited the room.

I made my way back to the suite and excitedly told Aisha everything that Robb had told me as soon as I entered. Aisha was happy for me as well and we chatted excitedly about all the things we could all do together while Ayden was visiting. Aisha was really close to my family and sometimes, I think my parents loved her even more than me. Aisha would obviously be included in all the _family activities _that would take place while they were visiting. I also wanted to introduce Ayden to the team as well, so that he could meet the people I was working with. He was extremely curious about them after all. He'd been hearing me gush over them for years and now he could finally meet the people that I had looked up to for many, many years.

"We can use my laptop and _Google_ things to do while in the Czech Republic." Aisha said with a small laugh.

I grinned, "Sounds like a plan," I told her. "But I really have to call Ayden first. Robb is going to fax over all the information on where we are staying to Ayden before we leave."

"Okay, well I think I'm going to go ahead and meet the guys while you call Ayden. I'll give you some privacy." she offered.

"Sounds good, I won't be that long. I'll meet you down there in a bit." I promised.

"'Kay." She called out as she left the room.

I quickly pulled out my phone and dialed Ayden's number. He answered almost immediately. "_Did you talk to your boss_?" he asked animatedly.

"He's not my boss, per say." I pointed out, teasingly stalling for time. "More like '_team leader' _of the group." I giggled in reply.

I could practically _hear_ Ayden rolling his eyes in response, "_Whatever. What did he say_?"

"Someone's impatient." I commented.

"_Well after I talked to you, Mom called and I may have accidentally let it slip that I was possibly coming to visit you._" He said guiltily.

I groaned, "Ayden! You didn't…" I trailed off.

He sighed before he spoke, defending himself. "_Sorry sis but I did. They're completely thrilled about seeing you. They also want to know as soon as possible what the details are and I have a feeling that if you don't tell me soon so that I can call them, they will be calling you_." he pointed out.

"Robb said that everything is completely fine with him but I just told him that _you _were coming, Ayden. I never mentioned anything about Mom and Dad coming as well!" I exclaimed angrily.

"_I know, I know, I know but I blurted it out before I even had the chance to think about it. And you _know_ how demanding and persuasive Mom is. There _is_ a reason why she is a real estate saleswoman_." He reminded me in a serious voice.

"I know—I guess I'll just have to let Robb know that my parents caught wind of our deal and are hitching along with you. But hey, we're headed out in a bit and Robb's going to fax all the hotel information before we leave." I explained. "But I may ask him to fax the stuff to Mom and Dad as well." I added.

"_Seriously? They're all down with it_?" Ayden asked excitedly.

I nodded, but then realized he couldn't see me. I mentally smacked myself in the forehead, "Yeah, they are '_down with it_'." I said, teasing him for his slang. Ayden and I had a slight age difference. While I was twenty-three getting ready to turn twenty-four, Ayden had recently turned nineteen.

Ayden and I chatted for a bit longer, talking about the things we could do and how long they could say before I realized that I really needed to go meet the guys and Aisha for lunch.

"Hey I'm really sorry but," I started.

Ayden cut me off, "_You've got to go_." he finished.

"Yeah."

"_Well I hope you have fun on your trip. Call me later tonight after you get there_." he said.

I laughed, "Ayden, we won't be in the Czech Republic until late tomorrow. We're driving there, not flying." I told him.

"_Why_?" he asked.

"I don't know, Robb just wanted to drive. It's probably because it's less of a hassle to just to drive straight to wherever we're going than going through all that airport security." I said.

"_Makes sense_…" Ayden mused. "_But hey, I'll let you go then. Just call me…whenever you get there_."

"Bye Ayden, love you." I said.

"_Love you too_." he replied.

I heard the click of the receiver and slid my own phone shut, ending the call. Standing up and stretching, I grabbed my jacket off of the chair that I had thrown it on earlier that morning and headed down the halls to eat lunch with the rest of the crew.

**

* * *

**

Lunch was over quickly and before I knew it, we were grabbing all the things from our rooms and dragging them out to the vans to pack up and get ready to head out. Aisha and I ended up having a few more suitcases than the guys, so they helped up carry them out. I was quite entertained while watching Barry trying to discreetly show off his muscles to Aisha by carrying almost all of his stuff. Dustin offered to take some of my stuff by I declined his offer, stating that I could take care of all of my stuff myself because it wasn't that heavy.

I lied.

One of my suitcases turned out to be heavier than I thought it was. Dustin got to carry it out to the vans after all. When he came upon me in the hall struggling with the heavy case, he got a smug grin on his face as he picked it up with ease. I will admit that it was nice watching him carry my stuff. But, that was mostly because I got to see his muscles strain through the tight grey t-shirt he was wearing.

I sighed and followed him out of the hallway, through the lobby and out of the hotel where our vans were parked out front. I tugged on my jacket sleeves a little as Dustin threw open the vans doors and started loading that last of my luggage in.

"I could have done that myself." I pointed out with a slight pout of my face as he closed the doors once more.

Dustin looked around for a moment before walking up to me and pressing me against the van, "Nah, I liked watching you check out my muscles." he said with a grin.

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as he leaned down and gave me a delicious but quick kiss that was over in a few seconds. He pulled away and started walking into the hotel, leaving me a little embarrassed and quite surprised.

"Where are you going?" I called out, placing my hands on my hips.

Dustin chuckled much to my annoyance, "I'm going to go see if the others are ready to go. You can join me if you like. You don't have to stand out here."

I decided to be stubborn and stay outside and wait for everyone. I crossed my arms and shook my head while Dustin just sat there and laughed at my obstinacy. He entered the hotel through the main doors and didn't return for some time.

I felt my pocket buzz and looked down. It was a text message from Aisha.

* * *

**From: Aisha**

_**Where are you**_**? **

–**A.**

* * *

I sent her one back.

* * *

**To: Aisha**

_**Waiting for you guys at the vans. Are you coming**_**?**

**- M.**

* * *

I waited a little while and it wasn't too long before I got a response—or actually two responses.

* * *

**From: Aisha**

_**We'll be there soon**_** :)**

**- A.**

* * *

**From: Dustin**

_**Are you still waiting outside**_**? **_**You could have come in with me**_**…**

**- D Pari.**

* * *

I was actually really relieved that despite the fact that Dustin used a whole bunch of slang when he talked verbally, that he used proper English when he typed things out or sent texts. You would not imagine how much I detested the short hand that teenagers made up these days. Even Ayden's got on my nerves and I forced him to use proper English when texting or emailing me. I decided to only text Dustin back since Aisha's wasn't necessarily a text I _had_ to reply to.

* * *

**To: Dustin.**

_**Yeah, I'm still out here. But Aish says you guys will be out here soon. Hurry**_**. :)**

**- M.**

* * *

A few seconds later there was another buzz.

A reply.

* * *

**From: Dustin.**

_**Why**_**?**

**- D Pari.**

* * *

I laughed and texted back my reply.

* * *

**To: Dustin.**

_**Because**_**. **_**Just try and get out here before the rest of them**_**.**

**- M.**

* * *

I pressed send and a few minutes later my phone was buzzing once more.

* * *

**From: Dustin.**

_**I'll try**_**.**

**- D Pari.**

* * *

I decided to leave it at that and placed my phone back in my jacket pocket. I leaned against the van door where Dustin had left me and waited for him to emerge from the building. It wasn't that long before I saw Dustin's lone figure walking through the lobby and towards the doors. I grinned at him and he gave me a smile in return but raised his eyebrows in question. Then, I saw the others following behind him but watched as they stopped at the counter to return their room keys. I had already given Aisha both of ours since she had volunteered to check us out herself.

I had been so lost in thought that I barely even noticed when Dustin's figure came to a stop right in front of me. I looked around him to see if any of the members were looking at us before I motioned silently for Dustin to follow me on the other side of the van. He raised his eyebrow once more but followed me obediently.

As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of like it when Dustin had pressed me against the side of the van and kissed me. It was a small, short kiss but somehow it still left me completely breathless with my head spinning. I wasn't sure what was happening to me. No one's kisses had _ever _made me feel like that before.

I leaned against the side of the van while Dustin stood in front of me. I silently reached up and grabbed his shoulders, bringing him forward and caging myself in between his body and the cold metal of the van. Dustin got the idea of what I was doing and brought his hands up, placing them on the van on either side of my head, grinning widely the entire time. His head bent down and our lips connected.

I pressed my lips against his firmly and opened my mouth slightly with a sigh to take his bottom lips in between my lips as he took my top one in between his. I tightened my arms around his neck as we kissed slowly. I brought my hands into his hair and messed with it slightly but was careful not to mess it up too much. I had learned that he got a little grumpy when I 'messed up his '_do'_.

Trying to savor the kiss for as long as possible, I drawled out the kisses, each small kiss that we gave was long and slow. When he finally pulled away, I started pouting. I knew that over the next two days we would be surrounded by the rest of the crew constantly so Dustin and I probably wouldn't get to spend any time alone whatsoever.

Dustin confirmed my thoughts when he spoke, "Come on, you can last two days without touching this, right?" he joked and gestured to his body.

I punched his shoulder lightly, "You know what?" I said thoughtfully. "Just for that, I'm not going to. I won't touch you for two entire days." I added the word, "Voluntarily," when I saw Dustin's arms reaching out towards me.

"Fine, you're on. How much do you want to bet?" Dustin asked.

I shook my head, "We aren't betting money. It's just a game." I pointed out.

"Well, okay." Dustin said. "But I'm still going to win." he laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Whatever."

Suddenly, four pairs of voices filled the air and I knew that the rest of the team had exited the hotel at this point.

"Where did Dustin and Mercedes run off to?" I heard Robb ask.

I jumped out from behind the van, "Boo!" I laughed.

Aisha was the only one who jumped at my outburst. She had been busy staring at Barry to even notice that I had been missing.

Robb laughed, "Where is Dustin?"

"Checking his hair is the driver's side mirror." I lied. Dustin really wasn't doing that, but I just couldn't resist teasing him. He was so cute when he was frustrated.

Dustin's voice came from behind me as he walked out from behind the van, "I was not!"

"Somehow, I don't believe that…" Robb said heartily.

Dustin crossed his arms over his chest, "Why is it that it's always me that gets picked on around here? It's never Barry, it's never Joe or Robb or even the two newbies, it's always me!" he ranted.

This caused everyone to go into a hysterical fit of laughter which seemed to piss Dustin off even more. After everyone seemed to calm down from laughing Robb spoke, "Well, I think everything is packed up, am I right?" he asked.

"Everything is all packed up." Joe replied happily.

"Well then I guess it's time to head out." Robb announced. "How about myself, Dustin and Mercedes ride in the first van while Joe, Barry and Aisha ride in the equipment van. Does that work?" he asked.

I looked over towards Aisha who was _still _staring at Barry and I knew that she definitely didn't have a problem with the arrangement, if she had even heard what Robb had said that is.

"Fine with me," I said.

Aisha nodded, "It's fine with me too."

'_I guess she was paying attention after all_.' I thought.

"Okay, well let's head out. We have a long drive ahead of us." Robb said.

We all piled into the vans and before I knew it, we were off.

* * *

- _**Europe, 2009**_ -

Dustin wasn't kidding when he told me that the drive was going to be outrageously long. It was, without a doubt, the longest car drive I had been on in my entire life. Since we had left the hotel in Wicklow at around 2pm, we had been in the car for about twelve hours, meaning that it was about 2 or 3am now. The drive in total was going to be close to twenty-two hours and that wasn't including stops to eat, switch drivers or just plain rest stops. So in all, we probably had fifteen more hours of driving, perhaps more, to go before we reached our destination: Krumlov, Bohemia, Czech Republic.

During the drive I had started out reading a book, then I listened to my IPod, for I while I texted Dustin and Aisha (Dustin secretly of course) and then I had chatted with Robb about the case that we were going on. Apparently the castle was called Cesky Krumlov and the paranormal activity was very spread out.

Then, a couple of hours ago, I had received a phone call from my very exuberant parents who were just gushing on how excited they were to visit me at the Czech Republic and meet my co-workers. We had only been talking for about ten minutes when my phone reception started getting bad so I had to let them go. But, before they hung up they once again told me how excited they were to visit Aisha and I in a foreign country. I didn't understand why they were so excited. They had vacationed in Europe many times. I didn't see why the Czech Republic was going to be so exciting for them.

We had stopped only once so far and that was around 8pm, five or six hours ago, to get a late supper at a small restaurant in the UK and switch drivers. Robb had decided that they would drive around five hours shifts. Aisha and I had offered to drive but Robb said that because we weren't used to European travel yet, that it would probably be better if we didn't drive. Robb and Barry had started out driving and now Dustin and Joe were driving, although we would probably be stopping soon to switch drivers again. When Dustin started driving, I decided to take a quick nap since I wouldn't be able to text him anymore. That quick nap had turned into a three hour long deep sleep. When I woke up, it was completely dark.

That was three hours ago. Robb was asleep and snoring slightly while Dustin was driving us down one of the highways humming quietly along to the radio. The darkness of the van was relaxing and the continuing movement of the vehicle was beginning to make me sleepy again. I wanted to stay awake for a while longer because I knew that we would be stopping soon.

"Mercedes," Dustin's soft voice came from the driver's seat.

My head snapped up and I looked around groggily. "Yeah?" I whispered quietly so I wouldn't wake up Robb.

Dustin's tired eyes met mine through the rear-view mirror. "Get some sleep, I know Robb said five hour shifts but he is completely out of it and I'm not tired." I knew he was lying about not being tired but I decided not to interrupt while he was speaking, "I'm going to let him sleep for a while and continue driving. I already radioed Joe and he said that Barry and Aisha are fast asleep too. We agreed to just let them sleep and keep driving."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion, "You radioed him?" I asked sleepily.

"Yes I did, I think you are more tired than you realized. Go to sleep." he said tenderly.

I frowned, "Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine. I have the radio to keep my company." Dustin replied while gesturing to the radio which was playing some top-forty station that we had picked up.

An embarrassingly loud snort escaped me and I blushed before saying, "Oh right, that's fantastic company I'm sure." I told him.

"Mercedes, just get some sleep, you're tired." he said. "You can barely keep your eyes open…" he pointed out.

He wasn't lying, I honestly was having a hard time keeping my eyes open and the slow song that was playing on the radio at the moment wasn't helping matters much. Dustin gave me a reassuring smile, his eyes crinkling slightly at the edges and I sighed, giving in.

"Fine," I said. "But wake me up when you guys switch over."

"I will." he promised.

I closed my eyes and fell into a peacefully fatigue induced oblivion.

* * *

**_So, thoughts? Let me know what you think of the Part Two :) And again, you don't have to be a member of or have an account to send a review. Just go ahead and click the 'Send a review button' right below here and a separate window will pop up and let you send an anonymous review :) I won't be able to reply to your questions if you have any but I will answer them in my authors note in Part Three if I can. Anyways, please send a good word to a writer. It really does me alot to hear what you think of the chapters -- what I could work one, what you liked, you disliked and what I could do to make it a better story in general. Feedback and evaluations can be very helpful to a writer. Anyways, please do so and I look forward to posting Part Three in a few days. So make sure to stay tuned!_**


	10. SC: Part 3 of 11

**Authors Note: **_Hey everyone :) So I'm really sorry for the late update. I said I would update in a few days and it turned into more than a week. But honestly, I was sick for nearly half the week and then when I was able to go back to school I was overloaded with makeup work :( Then the past two days I spent hanging out with my boyfriend and friends and relaxing so don't blame a girl :) Lol. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. This is the last 'fluffy' chapter before we get to the investigation so, enjoy! Please leave reviews because I absolutely LOVE them! New stuff on the website so check it out :) The GHI pages are under the "more" catagory. Don't click on it, just let your mouse hover and another list will pop up :) Also I added yet another page for pictures of the locations/hotels and junk (: so enjoy those as well!_

_Happy Reading,_

_- RIP._

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_Secret Valentine _

- by -

We The Kings

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 3 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- **_Somewhere in_** **_Europe_****_, 2009_** -

"Mercedes…"

A voice cut through the dream I was having which oddly enough involved me and the GHI team investigating Cesky Krumlov and how I hoped that the investigation would end up going. I was at the very edge of my conscious. Where I knew I was asleep and someone in the real world was trying to get my attention—yet I didn't really care. I wanted to stay asleep but the voice persisted. I let out a small moan and slowly tried to open my eyes. I felt a hand on my arm, shaking me slightly. I brought my hand up and swatted it away.

"Stop shaking me," I grumbled. "I'm awake."

It was just beginning to become light outside when I finally let my eyes adjust. I sat up in my seat and looked around in surprise. When I had first fallen asleep, it had been completely dark outside.

The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was Dustin telling me that he would wake me up when it was time to stop and switch drivers. I looked over to see who had awoken me and saw a cheerful looking Aisha standing next to my open door wearing the same clothes as yesterday that were slightly wrinkled, probably from sleeping.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's a little after five in the morning." Aisha answered.

I frowned, "Did we already stop and switch?" I asked.

"No, we're stopping and switching now." she replied.

"But that means that Dustin and Joe have been driving since around eight o'clock last night." I said.

Aisha nodded, "We were all asleep so they decided to just keep on driving. We're stopping here," she gestured to the small restaurant that we had stopped at, "to eat and get cleaned up a little before Robb and Barry take over for Dustin and Joe."

"I see," I replied, still dazed from sleep.

"I got into the van and picked out your outfit for today. You wouldn't wake up right away so I got your stuff out and then tried waking you up again. You must have been in some deep sleep." Aisha giggled.

I sat up from my curled up position in the seat and stretched, "Yeah, I was. I was pretty tired. I think I fell asleep around 3am last night." I told her.

"Joe said that I was out for nearly the entire drive. You know how much I hate car rides, especially long ones. They are so boring."

I laughed, "Sounds like you." I said. "You probably fell asleep as soon as the van started moving."

Aisha narrowed her eyes, "No I didn't. For your information I didn't fall asleep until four hours into the drive."

"I think that's a record for you."

Stretching a bit more and popping my back, I climbed out of the van and stood up, popping my legs and trying to get the feeling back into them. The position I had been sleeping in had caused them to fall asleep. It felt like there were tingling needles poking at every part of my leg.

"Are your legs asleep?" Aisha asked, observing me shaking my legs slightly.

I nodded silently and continued moving around, my legs feeling like complete jello.

"Come on," Aisha said, "Let's get changed." she held up a pile of clothes that I just realized that she was holding in her hands.

"Have you been holding those the entire time?" I asked stupidly.

Aisha laughed, "Uhm, yeah I have. Come on, I think you need some coffee in you as well."

And with that we both entered the restaurant.

* * *

- **_Bohemia_****_, Czech Republic, 2009_** -

Dustin and I didn't really talk much at breakfast. He looked too exhausted to do more than eat so I just let him eat in silence. Aisha and I changed into our new clothes in the bathroom before going to meet the guy's in the actual diner to eat. Breakfast passed by quickly and before I knew it we were all piling back into the vans and ready to make the rest of the outrageously long trip to Bohemia.

Robb and I chatted quietly as Dustin passed out as soon as he got comfortable in the passengers seat of the van. I had to admit, he looked pretty cute sleeping but I tried my best to keep my eyes from wandering to his sleeping form too often.

The rest of the ride went by pretty smoothly, we stopped again around 1pm for lunch and then Dustin resumed driving, much more awake than he was at breakfast. We arrived in Bohemia around 5pm that night and checked into the hotel right away. The hotel was older and had a rustic charm to the place. It was located in Krumlov, Czech Republic and was called _Hotel U Mesta Vidne_. It was also located pretty close to Cesky Krumlov. We all got our own rooms this time since there were plenty of rooms available. I was thrilled to know I wouldn't have to race Aisha for the shower anymore. I also checked with the hotel staff about my family's reservations to make sure everything was set up accordingly.

Ayden and my parents were going to arrive in Bohemia on Saturday and then fly back to the US on Tuesday when we had to leave to go back to Ireland for our next case which was apparently some haunted island. I was really excited about them coming but at the same time I was nervous. I was scared that my co-workers and my family wouldn't get along. My parents were nice people but they also had high expectations and if you didn't meet those expectations then you weren't exactly worthy in their eyes. They were still civil, but there was a certain coldness in their voices that you couldn't ignore and things could get awkward really fast. On the other hand, I knew Ayden would be cool with all the co-workers. He was an easy going guy as it was so I knew I wouldn't have an issue with him.

Robb wanted us to go down and check out the hotels signature restaurant that apparently had a mixture of French and modern Czech dishes. Earlier on in the day, Aisha had picked out a pair of faded ripped jeans, a pink top with matching pink converse while she was wearing a similar outfit, only green. I decided that it would probably be best if I changed into something a bit nicer than ripped jeans and converse.

When I had first walked into my room, the initial thing I did was place all my luggage on my bed. I had brought three suitcases and a small carryon bag with toiletries with me for the entire few months that we'd be traveling. I could carry the carryon bag and my two smaller suitcases, but it was the biggest suitcase that I had problems carrying. Dustin had to bring it into my room for me—again. My luggage set was cute. It had a black and white plaid pattern on it. Before we had left the States, Aisha and I had gone luggage shopping. She picked out a brown printed luggage set while I settled on my plaid one.

I opened my biggest suitcase that had most of my nicer clothes in it and stood staring at my clothes, trying to think of what was best to wear to dinner. I didn't want to wear something too dressy but at the same time I'd rather be overdressed than underdressed. I was still thinking on what to wear when there was a knock on my door.

I ambled over to the door and opened it up to see a distressed looking Aisha.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Aisha sighed dramatically, "I have no idea what to wear!" she cried.

I giggled, "Wow, for a minute I thought we might really have a crisis on our hands…"

Aisha glared at me, "This is a crisis, Mercedes! I don't know what to wear to this restaurant. I don't want to get too dressed up but I also don't want to go and show up completely—"

I cut her off, "Underdressed?"

"Exactly!"

I watched in amusement as Aisha flung herself down on my bed radically and put an arm over her face. I rolled my eyes at her antics and walked back over to my suitcase and stared for a while. As I was looked through my clothes I heard Aisha squeal. I hadn't even noticed that she sat up and was looking at my clothes with me.

"You should wear that!" she said excitedly as she pointed to a black low bust shirt with a sown on silver belt.

"What if it's cold in the restaurant?" I asked.

Aisha shrugged, "Do you have a cardigan in there somewhere?"

I dug through my suitcase and pulled out a cute black cardigan and held it up for her. Aisha's eyes darted between the shirt and the cardigan a few times before she smiled, nearly blinding me with her perfect white teeth.

"That's perfect!" she cried. "All you need to do is wear a pair of skinny jeans with it and those black _Valentino_ heels you have with the silver bow on them."

"Are heels really necessary?" I asked in a voice filled with dread.

Don't get me wrong, I love wearing heels because despite what most people think, I find them comfortable. But, I was worried that heels would be overdoing the outfit and making it look too dressy.

"Not really, but do you have any other shoes that will match that black shirt?" Aisha asked.

I nodded my head 'yes' and dug inside the suitcase for a minute before I pulled out a pair of simple black flats. Aisha shook her head violently and smacked my hand, making me drop the flats back in the suitcase. "No way, the heels will look much, much better with the outfit. Just deal with it Mercedes!" she said sternly.

"Well," I said slowly. "They are really cute heels…"

"Then you're wearing the heels. Actually, after looking at your outfit, I just thought of the perfect ensemble for me to wear!" Aisha told me cheerfully.

"Glad I could help," I said cynically.

"Thanks!" Aisha cried out, not even bothering with my sarcasm.

Before I could even blink, Aisha hopped up off my bed and raced away from my room before I could even get another word out. I shook my head slightly and went over to close my door when I saw Robb standing by it, his arm raised half-way to knock but his head was turned, watching Aisha sprint down the hallway towards her room.

"Hey Robb." I said casually, as if Aisha hadn't just sprinted out of my room like it was on fire.

Robb turned to me and grinned, "What was that about?" he jabbed his thumb in the direction that Aisha had taken off in.

"Eh, nothing important—Aisha was worried about what she was going to wear to dinner so she came to bug me. She ended up picking out my outfit and then rushing out because she suddenly realized that she had the perfect outfit for herself waiting in her room." I explained.

Robb rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I wonder about her…" he mumbled while shaking his head sadly. "Anyways, the restaurant is kind of nice so we decided that we'd all dress up a bit. It's not fancy, but we should still clean up a bit." he told me.

I grinned and leaned against the door frame lazily, "I'm glad you guys decided on that because the outfit Aisha picked out is kind of dressy but not too bad." I said.

"Well, I need to get back to my room and change, I just thought I'd let you know." Robb said.

I nodded my head, "Okay, well thanks. You put my mind at rest by telling me that." I laughed.

Robb chuckled a bit in response, "Okay, we'll meet in my room at 6:30, is that good?"

"Sure, gives me plenty of time to get ready." I replied. "It's only 5:45."

"I thought so," Robb grinned. "Okay, well I'll see you then."

"Bye."

And with that Robb left and I quietly shut the door behind him. I turned back to my outfit on my bed and went into the bathroom to change and fix my hair and makeup. I put on my clothes quickly and decided to straighten my hair and put a bobby pin in my hair to hold my bangs in place. I was touching up on my makeup when I heard a knock on my door.

'_Who could it be now_?' I wondered. '_That's the third person in the past fifteen minutes_…'

I struggled to put on my heels before going to the door. I had successfully gotten one heel on and was hopping around trying to get the other one on when I opened the door.

"Are you having problems with those heels?" Dustin teased me, his perfect white teeth beaming at me.

I shook my head at him stubbornly and leaned against the doorjamb to steady myself as I fixed my heels. All the while, I heard Dustin chuckling at me. When I finally had my shoes on correctly and had both feet planted firmly on the ground, I wiped the imaginary dust from my pants and stood straight and tall to take Dustin in.

He looked amazing. It was the first time I had really seen him when he wasn't wearing something with the GHI logo on it or sports gear. He was wearing a pair of nice dark jeans that was paired with a button up white and navy striped long sleeved shirt. I also noticed that his customary wooden cross necklace poked out of his shirt slightly. He seemed to rarely take it off. I then looked down to his feet and smirked when I saw that he had on a pair of nice and clean black converse. Finally looked back up to his face, his hair was re-gelled and I was just dying to run my hands through it again.

"You look nice." I said breathlessly.

His smirk turned into a full out grin, "Thanks sweetheart," he said cheerfully. "You look amazing too." My heart pounded wildly in my chest at _another _pet name he had given me. Sometimes, I wondered if he even realized he called me by pet names, it seemed like a second nature to him.

He then stepped into the room and lightly closed to door behind him. I was about to ask him what he was doing but before I could even open my mouth to speak, he brought both of his hands up to my face and was pulling me to him. Our lips met in a soft, sweet kiss as always. I opened my mouth slightly to kiss him deeper. When he obliged I sighed into his mouth.

When we pulled away from each other we were both breathing heavily and I noticed that his lips were slightly red and swollen. I knew that mine were probably the same. I took a chance in looking in the mirror near the door and knew that I had predicted right.

Dustin looked at the mirror as well and gasped, "You have a full length mirror!?" he said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Uhm, yeah I do. I guess."

"My room doesn't have one of these!" he exclaimed. I giggled and shook my head as Dustin stood in front of the mirror and started flexing his muscles and messing with his hair. "Dude, this reminds me of _Astor__ Mansion_. They had one of these there and it was freaking awesome." he twisted his body to the side and rubbed his jaw.

This time I rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm, "You look fine, Dustin. Stop oogling yourself in the mirror. You look _pretty_." I teased. "And you wonder why Robb teases you constantly…" I mumbled under my breath.

"What as that?" Dustin asked, finally looking away from the mirror.

"Nothing," I smirked.

He took a hint and changed the subject, forgetting about the mirror completely. "So, you ready for dinner?" Dustin asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, I actually am. I'm excited. I've never eaten Czech food before…"

"Neither have I," he replied. "I guess we'll find out together what it's like."

"So do you want to walk down together now or something?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sure." Dustin agreed. "You go out first though."

I knew why he wanted me to do that. We were still trying to be sneaky and I didn't want anyone even beginning to suspect things, even if they secretly did. I opened up the door and stepped outside, peering to the left and right and saw no one coming.

"It's clear, pretty boy." I said with a giggle.

I turned and motioned for Dustin to come on out of my room.

"'Kay." he answered, ignoring my jab as he stepped from the room.

"So, where is the restaurant anyways?" I wondered out loud.

Dustin laughed, "Do you not even know where it's at?" he asked me.

I shook my head, "No, not really. But I didn't think it'd be that hard to find."

"What am I going to do with you…?" Dustin mumbled, shaking his head and grinning down at me.

* * *

Dinner was fantastic. I had never eaten real French food or Czech food but I enjoyed both. It was also nice to just sit around with the crew and have an actual dinner. Robb wasn't kidding when he said that we were practically a family to each other. As we sat down to eat, I felt right at home. I felt like it was a Sunday dinner at my parent's house. The only difference was that I didn't have to listen to my mother gossip about the scandals that seemed to go on daily in their town.

The thought made me even more excited to see my family in a couple days. I felt pathetic, like a little kid missing her mommy and daddy, but I couldn't help it. I missed my family.

My parents didn't live in Whitefield, and instead lived in a big fancy mansion in Newport, Rhode Island that had been in my father's family for centuries. So why did I move to Whitefield then? My grandmother, Lucinda, lived there. Lucinda wasn't really old. She hadn't even broken her seventies yet. But my mother, Francesca, always worried that her mother was less than sane. So while I went to Dartmouth College, I usually went to visit Lucinda on weekends at my mother's request. During those visits, Lucinda always talked about seeing people in her home. Sometimes I would walk in on her having conversations with something that wasn't there. I nearly had a heart attack when I walked in on her mumbling to someone that she referred to as Gregorio. I immediately thought she was talking to my grandfather although I had never said something about her to it. The only weird this about this situation was that my grandfather, Gregorio, had passed not long after Ayden was born and I was still I young child.

Unlike my mother, I didn't think that my grandmother was insane. Since I researched the paranormal – I had other ideas. Every now and then I wondered if my grandmother was a medium. I hadn't met any psychics or mediums in person before, but it was very well possible that my grandmother had a gift to see those from the other side. That's what got me interested in the paranormal was my grandmother. My mother detested it and thought it was incredibly stupid but my father, Nathan, on the other hand, thought that paranormal things were interesting and had egged on my curiosity as a child. Ayden just didn't really care. He was too caught up in his band to really spark an interest in paranormal things like my father and I.

"What has you so deep in thought?" Barry asked me inquisitively as he took a bite of the dish he was eating.

I shrugged and started pushing around the food on my plate, "Just my family back home. Eating dinner with you guys made me think of the Sunday afternoon lunch I used to always go to at my parents house…" I mumbled.

Aisha giggled, "I remember those! Francesca would always call on Saturday making sure that you were still going to come to dinner and to church even though it was basically an hour and a half drive for you to get down there so you had to leave at like six every Sunday morning." Aisha said. "I remember the one time you asked me to come along…let's just say, never again."

"Do you're parents not live in Whitefield with you?" Joe asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

I shook my head, "No, they live in Newport, Rhode Island in a house that's been in my father's house for years. I went to college at Dartmouth and often visited my grandmother, Lucinda, on weekends. She lives in a beautiful old house in Whitefield that seems to have paranormal activity. While I was there, I experienced a lot of strange things. Anyways, after I graduated I decided to move to Whitefield to keep an eye on Lucinda."

"Lucinda's house is creepy," Aisha seconded, taking a sip of her wine that she'd ordered. "We thought about calling TAPS in a few times to investigate it but we never actually did. We did some of our own investigations there but we didn't have all the big fancy equipment you guys have. We just had the basic stuff. We caught a few EVP's and such but nothing huge." she explained.

"Is that what got you interested in the paranormal, Mercedes?" Robb asked me.

I nodded, "Basically, but my father always thought that paranormal stuff was cool so when I was younger he used to kind of fuel that curiosity. My mother hated it though, she is a huge skeptic as it is but he just wants me to be happy so she doesn't _completely_ disapprove. Just don't expect her to freak out because we found an EVP or something." I said.

"They seem nice enough." Dustin commented.

"They are, they just have their own opinions on stuff and were raised pretty strictly. They both grew up with a lot of money and they love to live life to the fullest. Sometimes I think that they think you can buy happiness with money but I know that they mean well. It's just how they were raised so they don't know any differently. I try and make my own money without using my parent's as much as I can." I explained.

"That's good. It shows you can be responsible and not mooch off of your parents riches. You obviously have built a good life for yourself on your own." Robb said thoughtfully. He then took a bite of his meal and groaned, "I still can't—this is fantastic!" he said, changing the subject as he stared at the plate of food in awe.

I was glad, as much as I missed my parents, I really didn't want to talk about them. It wasn't that I was ashamed of them but I always felt like people would treat me differently once they found out my parents were nearly billionaires. Aisha was the only person I knew who really didn't make a big deal out about my parents being rich. I knew that the GHI team would find out soon enough, but I didn't want that time to come until it absolutely had too. Sure, they were all pretty rich from the show's funding, but my parents money was different. It was old money and had more being brought in every day since my mother seemed to be a real estate 'tycoon' and my father a 'super' lawyer. I tried to forget about my parents riches as I lifted my glass of wine and tossed it back, hoping that a slight buzz would put me in a much better mood.

The rest of dinner seemed to pass quickly and before I knew it, we were all leaving the restaurant with our bellies full of delicious food and wine. We ended the night by saying our goodnights to each other outside of our separate rooms before we all entered our rooms to get some sleep. We had the investigation at Cesky Krumlov tomorrow and all needed to get as much rest as possible before the investigation started.

Before I got some shut eye, I decided I wanted to go through the case information one more time but first I wanted to change out of my dinner clothes. I put on a tank top and a pair of comfortable shorts and then went to get the case information. I grabbed all the papers I needed and my laptop and curled up in my bed. I set my alarm on my cellphone for 8am and then placed it on my table beside my bed. I didn't want to text Dustin all night tonight because I knew he needed his sleep. So I settled on sending him a quick text telling him goodnight before I turned my eyes to my paperwork.

I was reading through the information for what seemed like the hundredth time when I felt my eyes growing a little droopy which was probably a mixture from the wine at dinner and just plain tiredness. I let my eyes close, telling myself I'd only rest them for a moment before going back to work.

* * *

An annoying ringing sound was what brought me from my slumber the next morning. I popped open my eyes and turned towards my nightstand and saw my cellphone literally jumping around, buzzing and letting off the annoying formerly mention ringing sound. I groaned before reaching over and shutting off my alarm. I had done exactly what I told myself I wouldn't do – fall asleep reading my paperwork. My papers and laptop were still spread out on the bed with me and I silently thanked God that I didn't roll around and push my laptop off the bed in my sleep.

I got up and walked over to my suitcase, pulling out a pair of jeans and a red sweater before making my way to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. The shower helped me relax and calm my excited nerves about the case. The warm water cascaded down my back, releasing the tightness from my muscles and causing my entire body to relax.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off before throwing my clothes on me. I decided to not mess with my hair and left it wavy and only put on some dark liner and mascara on my eyes. The whole process, including my shower and getting dressed, only took about thirty to forty minutes and I was completely ready once I laced up my red converse. Aisha and I had ever single color of converse imaginable because we found converse so comfortable. We wore the same size in shoes so we usually shared them. I kept half of them and she kept the other half. If we needed to borrow the other's shoes, we let them because it wasn't a big deal.

I put my room keys and phone in my jeans pocket before I decided to clean up my bed, picking up all the papers and organizing them in a orderly pile for later and putting my laptop back in it's case. I had just finished when my phone lightly buzzed, signaling I had a text.

* * *

**From: Aisha**

**_Meet you down in the lobby in five for breakfast?_**** :)**

**- A.**

* * *

At that moment my stomach took the perfect opportunity to grumble, making it known that it was hungry. I grinned and sent Aisha a text back letting her know that I would be down there in a few minutes. I assumed we'd be eating breakfast in the restaurant once again but I couldn't be so sure.

When I got down to the hotel's lobby I saw Aisha sitting on one of the burnt orange plush chairs, texting on her phone. She was dressed down for once, wearing a faded pair of jeans and a black and white striped thermal. Her straight brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she had a yellow sweatshirt sitting in her lap. From the looks of it, it looked like her Michigan State sweatshirt she had bought at Victoria's Secret.

When Aisha had first moved to the States, her parents had settled in Michigan and had lived there until after Aisha graduated from College. They then moved to Hanover, New Hampshire where Aisha's younger brother and sister decided to attend Dartmouth College, which was where I was going to school as well. Aisha's younger siblings and I were around the same age so I had a few classes with them. It was then that I met Aisha and we became really close friends. After I graduated, we moved to Whitefield together and started the photography agency together. I smiled at the memories of our first meeting and thought about her siblings as well. I made a mental note to ask her about them later.

I walked up to her and cleared my throat to get her attention. She jumped slightly and her phone flew from her hands and onto the floor. I picked up Aisha's light pink Blackberry and started to hand it to her when it began vibrating in my hand.

* * *

**_New Message: Barry_**.

* * *

I looked from to screen to Aisha and back to the screen a couple times before I handed her the phone without making a comment. I figured it would be better if I didn't say anything and let Aisha either tell me herself or pretend it never happened. For one, I didn't see Barry as the type of man to text, but there was always a first time for everything. Aisha's cheeks pinked a little but she stayed quiet on the subject and instead asked if I wanted to go ahead and eat breakfast. I agreed and together we walked into the restaurant to wait on the boys.

For once, we actually were ready before any of the other boys. We picked out a table and sat down. I sent Dustin a text letting him know we were already waiting for them in the restaurant for breakfast and when he finally texted me back he said that the four of them would be down in about ten minutes. I sniggered to myself knowing that Dustin was probably still perfecting his hair.

Most people thought that Dustin was a bit stuck up and vain when it came to his looks. Before I met him, even I wondered if he was a bit of a jerk behind the good boy exterior. I had heard a lot of fans say that he completely blew them off when he met them but I had also heard a lot of his fans say that he was really nice and down to earth when they met him. Now that I had actually met him and was 'dating' him, I knew that he wasn't as conceded as he came off. He just cared about his looks and there wasn't anything wrong with it. He used his looks as a joke and a fuel for light hearted gags. When he would make a comment like, '_I'm too pretty to be in here_,' or something of that nature, some people didn't notice the sarcasm behind it.

"What are you thinking about?" Aisha asked me curiously while sipping on the glass of water she had ordered while she was waiting on the waiter to bring us six cups of coffee, one for each GHI member obviously.

"Nothing really," I replied. "It's not important. I'm just tired."

Aisha looked like she was about to argue when she shut her mouth as I felt a firm hand close down on my shoulder. I jumped in my seat, startled slightly. I looked up and saw Robb grinning down at me, "Did I scare you, Mercedes?" he asked.

"A little," I said candidly.

"Good." he chuckled.

He sat down in the seat next to me while Dustin, Barry and Joe sat in the remaining seats. It didn't escape my notice that Barry sat down in the seat right next to Aisha just a _little _too quickly. I _knew _something was going on here. The text message had tipped me off and the performance I was watching now made me even more suspicious. I narrowed my eyes at the two of them as they both blushed, knowing they had been caught. I didn't say anything though, once again.

The waiter came and took our orders and after we got our food, Robb went through the plan for the day. He told us that after breakfast we could have until around 4pm to do stuff on our own time before we had to all meet to get the vans packed up and we'd head over to Cesky Krumlov for the investigation. It wasn't a long drive to Cesky Krumlov from the hotel.

Everyone had different ideas on what they wanted to do so it was decided that we would just have some time to ourselves before we would meet back at the hotel at 4pm. Aisha wanted to check out some of the shops. Barry and Joe decided that they would accompany her as they wanted to explore the city as well. Robb was going to talk to the client to get extra information before he was going to meet up with Aisha, Barry and Joe to go sight seeing while Dustin and I both just wanted to relax at the hotel which for us was code words for 'spending time together secretly.'

We all went out separate ways. Aisha, Barry and Joe headed out of the restaurant after they were finished with their meals and then Robb retreated to his hotel room to call the client which left Dustin and I still in the restaurant. I was finished with my meal but I didn't really want to leave yet either. Dustin got the idea and ordered two more cups of coffee before sliding into the seat that Robb had previously occupied.

"Do you really want to stay in all day?" Dustin asked warily. "I mean, we're in Krumlov, Czech Republic — in Bohemia. Most people never get a chance like this. We should go explore or something. We could just tell the others that you got bored so we decided to explore together because I didn't want you going off alone or something of that sort."

I tapped my finger on my chin and smiled at Dustin, "Yeah, that sounds fine but we should probably wait until Robb leaves. We could watch a movie or something in my room." I suggested.

"That could work. They don't have a pool or anything here do they?" Dustin asked, mostly to himself.

I answered him anyways, "I don't think they do."

"That would've been interesting if they did." Dustin commented.

I rolled my eyes at him and stood up, "Sure, sure. Do you want to go back to the room now?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied, standing up as well.

We walked back to my hotel room, chatting about what movie we wanted to watch. I had brought a few DVDs with me along with my laptop to watch in case I got bored. I didn't have a huge collection but we could make due with what I had. I had mostly comedies and chick flicks although I did have a couple thrillers and horror films.

By the time we reached my room we decided on a comedy since apparently those were Dustin's favorites. I had _Benchwarmers_, _Role Models_, _Accepted_ and _Yes__ Man._ When I told Dustin to pick one, he chose _Role Models_. I grabbed the DVD from my bag and placed in the CD drive for my laptop before I kicked off my shoes and curled up in the big bed, leaning against the headboard with my laptop on my lap. Dustin followed my example by kicking off his shoes and climbing on top of the bed with me. I felt his arm snake around my waist and pull me into his side.

The movie started playing and I couldn't help but think about how strange it was that I was so comfortable with Dustin. I had known him for a little over two weeks and had been with him for about three fourths of that time at this point. Was it normal to be comfortable with someone that quickly? It seemed unnatural to me. With any of my other boyfriends, I would not have cuddled up in my hotel room with and simply watched a movie with after dating them for a week and a half. It just wasn't like that. But with Dustin, things were different and they just – happened.

And that was a good thing.

The movie was over too quickly for my taste but Dustin and I untangled ourselves from each other and decided that we wanted to go ahead and go sight seeing at that point. Dustin wanted to wear a pair of sunglasses but unfortunately didn't have any with him so he ended up wearing a pair of my yellow aviators that looked a little less feminine than the rest of my sunglasses. Still, it made him look completely ridiculous but I don't think he even cared.

The next few hours were spent with Dustin and I walking hand and hand down the ancient streets of the city just chatting about random things and looking at all the shops, sights and places that were available to look at in the city. I had brought along my favorite digital camera as well. I had brought two of my cameras with me on the trip. One was my bigger and more advanced camera that was a hassle to carry around places while the other was just a simple, slim red digital camera that still took amazing pictures. For the sightseeing trip I decided that I wouldn't mess with bringing my big camera and instead brought my slim red one that fit inside my jean pockets.

As Dustin and I walked around I snapped pictures of random sights and people. Some of my favorite pictures that I was able to take were candid shots of couples, families and friends who were shopping, talking or just spending time together. While I went on a full out picture raid, Dustin just watched me with a smirk plastered on his face.

"You look like Barry in a camera store." He told me with a laugh. "You both are very passionate about photography I see."

I turned to him and snapped a picture of him when he wasn't ready. I giggled when it came up on the screen, "I'm a photographer, that's what I do." I told him simply as I showed him the picture I took.

Dustin frowned, "That picture looks horrible." he said.

I giggled, "I think it looks cute."

The picture was Dustin talking so his mouth was opened partly, that was the only part that looked not so good. The rest of the picture looked totally fine. He was staring at me in amusement while he had his hands tucked casually in his pockets.

Dustin walked towards me and tried to take the camera away from me but I ducked in time and started running down the street. I heard Dustin laugh loudly before he took off after me. I felt like a teenager, running down the street, but I didn't really care. I kept running until something out of the corner of my eye caused me to stop.

There was a large fountain in the middle of the city square that just looked completely stunning. It was like a photographers dream. I stopped in front of a eye-catching fountain and took a picture of the statue in the middle of it. I felt two arms wrap around my waist and I sighed contently before I turned the camera around and took a self portrait. Most photographers didn't really like to be photographed themselves but I loved it.

I turned the screen around to see the picture and gasped at what I saw. The picture looked amazing and was probably my favorite one I had taken for the entire day we had been out and about. We were both smiling huge smile and you could see the city milling around behind us.

I turned in Dustin's arms to say something to him when I was stopped right in my tracks by a voice.

"Awh, don't they just so cute together?" I heard an older female voice ask. She spoke English but you could hear a strong accent in her voice

I heard a male chuckle in response, "Young love, isn't it great?"

Dustin and I both turned our heads to see an older couple looking at us with grins plastered on their faces.

"If you want, we can take a picture of you two." The older woman told me kindly.

I looked up at Dustin who shrugged, "If you want, Mercedes. It doesn't matter to me."

For a moment I thought about it before I handed the older woman my camera, "Sure, I guess. Thanks you." I told her.

"Oh it's not a problem." she told me sweetly.

Dustin and I stood in front of the fountain. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders while I wrapped an arm around his waist in return. We both smiled and the older woman pressed the button, taking the picture of the two of us. We stood still for a moment, before the woman gave us the okay that the picture had taken. She handed me the camera.

"It's a very nice photograph. So how long have you two been married? Are you newlyweds?" she asked.

My jaw dropped in shock while I heard Dustin start sputtering behind me. It took me a while to gather myself enough to give her a clear answer, "U-uhm we a-aren't married…" I stuttered.

The woman frowned, "Well that's such a shame." she said while shaking her head. "You two would make beautiful babies."

This time I heard a strangled cough from behind me and saw that Dustin's face had turned bright red from embarrassment. I probably would have laughed and teased him if I wasn't embarrassed myself.

"T-thank you," I said, but it held an air of question to it.

The older man finally spoke, "Honey, I think you're embarrassing them." he muttered.

The woman laughed nervously and then apologized, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable." she said. "You two are just such a cute couple though. Well, I hope you have a nice trip."

"Thank you, you too." Dustin finally choked out.

I took one look at him before I asked, "Do you want to go back to the hotel now?" I asked.

Dustin nodded, "Yeah, that's probably best."

The walk back to the hotel was silent but it wasn't uncomfortable. I held Dustin's hand lightly in my own when I heard my phone start ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out and answered it.

"_Hey_!" Aisha's voice said through the phone. "_We're all back at the hotel, where are you and Dustin. We knocked on your doors and no one answered_."

I frowned, "Oh sorry." I told her. "I got bored and wanted to walk around and ask Dustin to come with me because I didn't want to go alone and I didn't know where the rest of you were at." I told her.

"_Okay_," Aisha replied. "_Will you guys be back soon_?"

"Yeah, we're almost there." I told her.

"_See you in a few_." Aisha said before she hung up.

When Dustin and I entered the hotel, the others were in the lobby waiting for us. We decided to go ahead and get the vans packed up since we had all of our stuff with us. I did make one quick trip back to the rooms to get my information on the castle because I knew I'd have to make a little speech in the van on the way over to let the viewers in on what went on at the castle. I was a little nervous about the speech and wanted my papers with me just in case I forgot something or got stumped. The last thing I wanted to do what give the viewers made up information on the castle.

Setting up the van only took a few minutes and before I knew it, we were off towards the castle.

* * *

**_So, did you guys enjoy the chapter? I hope you did :) Please leave some reviews for the poor sickly woman. Lol. Just kidding, I'm getting better. :) Outfits and pictures of the hotel and the town and all that will be up on the website soon! So make sure to check it out. Krumlov (the city) is so stinkin' beautiful it isn't funny! There is a bit of a change on the website navagation. The GHI pages are under the "more" catagory. Don't click on it, just let your mouse hover and another list will pop up :) And also, because I have so many beautiful pictures of Wicklow's Gaol and of Krumlov, there is will a seperate page for all those pictures. So there is now Three Pages: "GHI: Team", "GHI: Outfits/Acc" and "GHI: Places" :) Make sure to check them ALL out!_**


	11. SC: Part 4 of 11

**Authors Note: **_*Peeks out from behind corner* Hey guys, miss me much? I am once again apologizing for my lack of updating but hey, I did tell you that once school started I would probably not be updating often if at all. I apologize greatly because I know how frustrating it can be to enjoy a story but the author updates every month and only once a month. It sucks. I told myself that I'd never do that but yet here I am, being a hypocrite. So I apologize. Anyways, I won't make excuses or ramble on today, I'm just going to say enjoy this chapter :)_

_Happy reading,_

_- RIP._

PS_. The song for this chapter is 'We've Only Just Begun' by Run Kid Run. My centering is being stupid and not working and honestly, it's really starting to piss me off. Anyways, enjoy and just ignore the technical difficulties! (:_

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* * *

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**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 4 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

Once everyone was piled in the vehicles, Robb started up our van and drove away from the hotel with Barry on our tail. We drove in silence for a few minutes before Robb gave Dustin and I the signal that we were going to start recording for the show. I shifted my papers in my lap and looked down at them one more time before plastering a smile on my face and waiting for Robb to speak into the walkie.

I felt my stomach explode in a wave of butterflies and I started wringing my hands in my lap out of nervousness. I had noticed Dustin did it a lot as well. I guess he wasn't the only one who did that as a nervous habit. I nearly squeaked when Robb finally brought the walkie to his lips and started to speak.

"Alright guys, we're here in the Czech Republic and if I remember right, we have a team member who has a birthday. Happy birthday, Mercedes." he said with a smirk.

His eyes met mine in the mirror as my mouth dropped open in an 'o' of surprise. Honestly, I had forgotten all about it until he had spoken of it. "Uhm, thanks Robb." I said, sounding a little unsure of myself.

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday?" Robb teased.

I blushed, "Maybe I did," I said. "It's been a pretty busy last few weeks."

Suddenly I heard Barry's voice come over the walkie, "_Well happy birthday, Mercedes. What age will you be turning to now_?"

"I'm turning twenty-four actually." I replied through the walkie that Robb had personally given me before we got in the vans.

At that very moment, I noticed that Dustin had stiffened completely in his seat. I was curious so I raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, mainly because of the cameras that I knew were set up in the van.

Robb laughed, interrupting my staring at Dustin, "I think you're the baby of the team now, Mercedes."

"Well, I'm younger than Aisha. She's twenty-seven. I don't know how old any of you guys are…" I said.

There was a loud strangled, coughing sound that came over the walkie from Barry's end. Dustin, Robb and I exchanged confused looks. You could hear Joe and Aisha talking faintly over the walkie.

"_Are you alright_?" Joe asked at the same time as Aisha said, "_Uhm, Barry_?"

Robb picked up his walkie and spoke, "Barry are you alright over here?"

Barry's coughing fit finally subsided and he spoke in a half strangled voice, "_F-fine, I just s-swallowed wrong_."

"I see," Robb changed the subject, "Well Mercedes I know we have a _huge _case planned for today and as the new case manager for GHI," he smirked, "Why don't you tell us about it."

I nodded and began in a slightly shaky voice as I started to read off my papers, "Well of course. Okay so today we're going to a historic castle called Cesky Krumlov. There are more than forty buildings that make up the entire place so it's a pretty big area to cover for us. Some of the buildings date back to the early thirteenth century." I explained.

I quickly found that the more than I talked, the more that it became easier to relay the information. It was almost like a second nature to me. I had studied the research on the place very well and had read over it several times. I was a history buff at heart and was good at memorizing things.

"So what are the claims in this place?" Robb asked me.

I picked up the walkie and began to speak again, using my hands to talk as I usually did. I didn't even need the papers this time, "They have all sorts of claims. One of the main claims though is of a suicidal actress who is still heard in the theater. There is also a woman in a red dress that is seen at parties and such. It isn't just guests who have reported these things it's also tour guides as well as security guards. There are also reports of full bodied apparitions as well as shadows and voices."

I felt the van slow down a bit as Robb said, "Well, looks like this up here is it. We're coming up on it now."

"Wow, Mercedes, you weren't kidding when you said the thing was huge." Dustin commented as he turned around and grinned at me.

"No she wasn't." Robb added. "Come on, let's inside and see what's going on."

Robb and Barry slowed the vans to a stop outside of the magnificent buildings and we all climbed out of the vans, taking in the buildings in complete awe. My first thought was that we had stepped into another city inside the actual city. The structures were mostly white or cream in color while the roofs were red. They reminded me of Spanish architecture buildings almost, even though I knew that they really weren't.

"While we're on the tour, you guys," Robb started, gesturing to Aisha, Joe and myself, "can unload the stuff and make sure it's all ready to go. When you're done, you can just chill out here until we get back. Sound good?" he asked.

Aisha smiled brightly before answering in a cheerful voice, "Sounds like a plan Robb!"

Robb sighed and spoke in a dull voice, "Aisha, you didn't have another _Red Bull_, did you?" he asked, referring back to the Wicklow's Gaol investigation where Aisha had downed _Red Bull_ to stay awake.

"Oh god no," Aisha answered. "I learned from my sugar crash that _Red Bull_ isn't want I want to keep me awake tonight. Instead I'm using one of those five hour energy drinks. All energy, no crash later." she said happily.

I rolled my eyes, "You sound like an advertisement." I said bleakly. "I guess the next few hours will be full of bouncing and happiness." I added sarcastically.

"She has spunk," Robb countered. "We need spunk on our team."

"I think Aisha has more than enough to cover for all of us," Dustin threw in.

Barry laughed, "Well, you know what they say, you never can have too much enthusiasm."

"Yes you can!" Joe and I shouted at the same time. We both looked at each other in surprise.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, "That was weird." I said. Joe answered right away with, "I agree."

Robb clapped his hands together, "Okay, well enough of this, we need to get inside and talk with the client." he said to Barry and Dustin. Both Dustin and Barry nodded in agreement at Robb's statement. "We'll see you guys in a bit." he called out to us as they left.

Joe, Aisha and I turned our attention to the equipment van after they left. Joe opened up the doors as Aisha and I crawled inside to start handing the equipment out to Joe for him to inspect to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything.

"So Mercedes," Joe started, "First off I'd like to say happy birthday. I haven't told you that today yet." he said.

I blushed slightly, "Thanks Joe!" I said brightly as I leaned against the van and waited for him to speak more.

"What's the plan for the week?" he inquired. "For your family, I mean. Usually we don't fly out families in to see us on our birthdays." he teased.

I knew he hadn't meant what he said in a condescending way. I also knew it wasn't normal to have their families flying out to see them either. In fact, most of them barely got to talk to their families at all in less they called or emailed. But, they had never met my parents either. They didn't know how persuasive they could be. They also didn't know how when an idea got cooked up in my parents head that things always went their way. No matter what.

"Well, my parents and Ayden are flying up on Saturday and we'll probably spend some time here with them while Robb and Dustin are at the reveal. Sunday Night I think my parents are taking Aisha and I out to dinner so you guys can have a _Guys Night_ or something," I suggested with slight sarcasm. "Then Monday we're all going sight seeing or something. And when I say all, I mean you guys too," I pointed out to Joe, "and then we're eating lunch and dinner together. All this was what my mother told me when we last spoke. I think she actually has an itinerary written down for every single little thing we're going to do."

"Your mother seems very organized," Joe observed.

I sighed, "You have _no_ idea." Aisha and I said at the same time. I looked over at Aisha, "Why do I keep doing that today?" I mumbled to myself.

"But you're excited to have them down, right?" Joe asked me.

I nodded, "Of course, I mean I guess I can attest to everyone when I say that I miss my family. It's been a few weeks but, I don't know, I'm not used to being away from my family for such a long period of time. I guess I'm getting a little homesick." I explained.

"I miss my family a lot when I'm away as well. It helps calling and emailing them though." Joe replied.

"That it does." Aisha said.

"So do you two think you'll be able to do a better job at lifting the equipment this time?" Joe asked Aisha and I teasingly while changing the subject.

"Yeah it will," I sad as I nodded and bent down to pick up a computer case, "I think." I added as I huffed and used a little elbow grease to pick it up.

"Well, there is only way to find out!" Aisha said merrily.

"Aisha?" I asked after she made her comment.

Aisha looked up at me, "Yes?"

"Never again can you have _any _type of energy drink. You are starting to sound like a cheerleader in Junior High." I told her.

Aisha frowned, "Well, I was a cheerleader when I was in Junior High." she said.

Joe chuckled, "Maybe some of it is channeling back now."

"Could be," I added mordantly.

We all fell into an easy conversation after that, talking about Aisha's experiences as a cheerleader in middle school. I was actually pretty surprised because I hadn't known that Aisha used to be a cheerleader. She hadn't spoken about it before and I hadn't asked. It was nice to know a little more about my best friend's early life and it kept up a steady conversation between Aisha, Joe and myself. In no time at all, we had gotten all the equipment out of the van, things sorted out and ready to roll when Dustin, Barry and Robb returned.

After a while, I started to tune out Aisha and Joe's conversing. My stomach was once again was a churning mess of butterflies. This time it wasn't nerves, it was excitement. I was literally itching to get inside the huge building before me and investigate to see what I could find. The place just _screamed_ history.

It seemed like an eternity passed before the boys actually did return. By that time, Aisha and Joe were deeply engrossed in a conversation about computer gaming. I wasn't sure where at in the discussion about Aisha's childhood had turned to computer gaming.

"Do you have everything unpacked yet?" Robb asked, startling us slightly. We hadn't heard the three guys walk up.

Joe answered, "We sure do. Everything is ready for set up."

"Where are we putting central command?" I asked.

Robb thought for a moment before he answered my question, "I think we'll set up in right in there." he said, gesturing to the building that was right in front of us. "There is a smaller room in there that will be perfect for command."

"So, you want us to start taking the stuff in there?" Aisha questioned.

"Yeah, let's get started guys." Robb looked up towards the sky, "We want to get everything ready before it gets dark."

"Sure thing, boss man," I said humorously. It was getting to the point that I was comfortable enough around the guys that I could just be myself and not have to worry about how they would perceive what I said. I was usually shy and withdrawn around people I didn't know while I was more open and sarcastic around people that I _did _know. It's how I'd always acted. I wasn't sure why that was; it just was what it was.

Set up ran smoothly for us. We all worked together to set up the cameras, run the cables and start up the computers. Joe and Dustin did more of the setting up with the cameras and computers with Barry directing them while Aisha, Robb and I took care of the cables. We all worked together as a team should and we were finished in no time.

Soon we were all gathered around command central. "So Barry, do you want to walk us through all the cameras?" Robb asked.

Barry nodded and started to point at the screen, "Camera number one is located in the Summer House. It's the low lux camera. We are trying the capture a woman in a red dress so this camera will be able to capture the color much better than our other cameras would." he explained.

Robb grunted in approval, "Sounds good, next?"

"We have the full spectrum in camera number two. It's in the same area as number one but we wanted to see if anything would show up in either of the cameras. Camera number three is covering the kitchen area and lastly, camera number for. It is located up on the third floor and is covering the entire length of the floor up there."

"They all look fantastic so great job guys," Robb complimented. Everyone nodded in agreement to his statement. "Well okay, everyone has a walkie on them. This place is huge and we certainly want to hit every location here but we still want to do a thorough investigation here. We don't want to miss anything." he said. "I think first off Mercedes and I will investigate in the theater. Dustin and Aisha, you two can investigate the tower. Barry and Joe, you two can hit the wine cellar together. We'll all meet up in about an hour or so and switch teams as needed. Sound like a plan?" Nobody made any interjections to his speech so Robb continued, "Okay, its lights out and then we'll get started. Everyone take a different location of the castle and then we'll all meet back down here to split up in our teams." he announced.

With that everyone went off in separate directions with their flashlights, shutting off every light in the area. I made my way over towards the Summer House and started shutting off the lights there. As I was walking through, I tried to center my energy to see how I felt about the place. Despite the fact that I believed in the scientific side of paranormal investigating, I also trusted my feelings when I was investigating as well. I wasn't getting a for sure feeling of the castle. Granted, I was only in a small portion of the castle when I had thought that particular thought, so I hoped that the area of the castle that I was in was just not as active as other areas of the castle and I would find something later on in the night.

It was completely pitch black when I finished shutting off all the lights. I had just shut off the last one and was getting ready to turn my flashlight on to make my way back to command central when I felt something solid run right into me. I jumped back away from whatever had hit me in complete surprise.

"Ouch!" something cried out in surprise as I groaned slightly from the impact.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that—" I started but the person that I had run into cut me off.

"Oh, it's just you." they breathed out in a very familiar voice.

"Dustin?" I asked.

"Yeah…"

"Hey." I greeted.

'_Why do we keep running into each other in dark places_?' I thought to myself. I wanted to voice it out loud but somehow I figured that I should probably keep that thought to myself.

"Hey yourself," he chuckled, finally turning his flashlight up on his face so I could see him. "You nervous about tonight?"

I shook my head, "Not really. Well, not as bad as at Wicklow's Gaol anyways. I'm just excited now." I told him truthfully.

"Good." he replied.

We fell into a comfortable silence for a while, just standing across from each other in the dark. It sounded creepy, but it didn't feel creepy. The air was normal and I wasn't feeling any sorts of chills about the place like I had at Wicklow's Gaol. I was actually kind of relieved. Some of the things that happened at Wicklow's Gaol really freaked me out.

"Hey Mercedes?" Dustin asked slowly after a while of us standing in silence.

"Hmm?" I replied.

For a short moment, Dustin's eyes roamed my face, as if they were searching for something. He finally opened his mouth and his words came out in a jumble, "Are you really only twenty-four?" he asked nervously, wringing his hands together.

"Uhm yeah I am. Why would I lie?" I asked him quizzically. I was pretty confused on why he had even brought up my age. Sure, we'd never really talked about it but I figured it really wasn't an issue because we seemed to be close in age as it was.

Dustin was silent for a moment before he replied, "Well, don't some girls lie about their age?"

"Yeah, maybe when they are _forty_," I giggled. "But not when they are in their twenties. Why do you want to know anyways?" I questioned.

"Just curious…" he mumbled.

He was lying. I knew he was.

"You're lying." I accused him.

I watched, still very amused, as he wrung his hands more, folding them and unfolding them before crossing and uncrossing his arms several times over his chest.

"Dustin, come on, tell me please?" I said softly, taking a step towards him.

He was quiet for a while before he spoke again. "How old do you think I am?" he whispered.

"Does it matter?" I asked him. I didn't think that age was a big deal, especially since Dustin seemed to be my age anyways.

"A little…" he replied.

I thought for a moment, "Well, okay. If it means that much to you, I'd say you are twenty-five, maybe twenty-six at the most." I said honestly.

I watched as Dustin's eyes blinked a few times before his forehead crinkled up in despair. "Seriously?" he asked.

"Am I wrong?" I asked him. "Are you younger than that?"

Dustin ignored my questioning, "I don't mind an age difference, just so you know." he told me.

"Dustin, how old are you?" I asked him seriously.

"Well, older than twenty-six."

I breathed in heavily, "Twenty-seven?" my voice came out as a squeak.

The room went completely silent. "Try thirty-one…"

My mind completely went blank as his words registered in my brain. '_Thirty-One_.' There was no way in _hell_ this man standing before me was thirty-one. He couldn't be that old. He looked so—so—young!

"You're lying." I accused. "There is no way that you could have broken your thirties already." I told him.

"I'm telling the truth Mercedes," Dustin said seriously. His normally bright green eyes were a dark hunter green color. I looked down at my feet as he continued speaking, "I'll actually be turning thirty-two in July which is only about two months from now."

"Shit…you really aren't kidding me, are you?" I responded, still in shock.

"No," he shook his head slowly. "Does the age difference bother you?"

His words hung heavily in the air as I thought. It wasn't that much of an age difference, just give or take seven or eight years. It honestly wasn't that bad. I just couldn't believe that Dustin was that old, yet looked so young. Not that thirty-one _was _old or anything. In fact, it was quite young for most people. But, I just had a hard time believing that he wasn't just pulling my leg.

'_It has to be the hair_…' I thought. '_That has to be what makes him look so young_.'

Dustin started wringing his hands once more as if he was afraid I would tell him that the age difference was a problem. To me, it didn't change anything. Age was just a number and it was only seven or eight years. It wasn't that big of a difference.

"Not really, it doesn't bother me." I told him truthfully. I narrowed my eyes, "But I still don't think you're thirty-one."

"I promise you I am. I joined TAPS in 2005 when I was 27." he told me.

"I thought that you were only twenty then…" I mumbled.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Dustin said with a weak laugh. "I'm old."

I took three more steps closer and wrapped my arms around his middle. He returned the action and wrapped his arms around me in return.

"You aren't old." I told him sternly. "Now maybe if you were forty-one instead of thirty-one, I'd start getting a little worried." I mumbled against his chest.

Dustin laughed and I could feel his chest vibrate slightly against face which was pressed against it. "Barry is thirty-seven." he said.

"Really?" I inquired in disbelief, pulling back to look at Dustin's face. Once again, he wasn't lying to me. "Wow, him and Aisha have a ten year age difference between them." I said thoughtfully.

"What?" Dustin asked in a confused voice.

"Oh nothing, I was just saying…"

"Are you hiding something from me, babe?" Dustin asked with a smirk, tickling my sides slightly.

I tore his hands from my body and moved away from him. I hated it when people tickled me. "I am not!" I lied. I decided to change the subject, "We probably need to leave now anyways, they have got to be wondering—" The sound of the walkie clicking on in Dustin's pocket cut me off and startled me at the same time.

"_Dustin? Where are you? You've been gone for twenty minutes_!" Robb's voice came through the speaker. "_Oh, have you seen Mercedes? She isn't back yet either_."

"Sorry Robb," Dustin apologized. He got a wicked smirk on his face before he continued, "Yeah I've seen Mercedes. I'm with her right now. She got lost and I found her wandering around on one of the floors."

I gasped and glared at him callously before ripping the walkie from his hand, "Jerk! Stop trying to get me in trouble!" I spat at him. I spoke into the walkie when I opened my mouth again to speak, "Robb he's lying to you. I wasn't lost. Besides, I'm the one who found his sorry ass."

You could hear four sets of laughter coming through the walkie at my comment while Dustin stuck out his lower lip in an attempt to pout. I swatted his arm lightly before Robb finally spoke, "_For some reason, I believe Mercedes was the one to find you Dustin_."

Dustin rolled his eyes, "We'll be down in a bit, Robb." he said.

"_Alright, over and out_," Robb replied.

"Got it Brotha," Dustin said, switching off his walkie. He turned to me, "You are such a liar!"

I smirked at him, "You lied to Robb first, you didn't find me and I wasn't lost!" I exclaimed.

Dustin rolled his eyes but didn't argue with me, "We found each other. Let's just settle on that." He threw his arm playfully over my shoulders and tucked me into his side while pressing a kiss against me cheek. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly at the contact.

I sighed, "That we did."

"Let's go rock." Dustin said.

I rolled my eyes at him but couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my face. The comment was so _Dustin_. And with that, we walked back to central command.

"Took you long enough," Aisha commented lowly when Dustin and I finally walked into command station. We had long since separated and I was glad that we had because the first thing that I noticed was that the camera men had their cameras focused right on us.

I frowned, "Sorry guys."

Robb responded, "It's alright. You guys weren't gone that long and it wouldn't have surprised me if you would have told me that you got lost because this place is huge!" he exclaimed while amplifying his voice slightly on the word '_huge'_.

"So are we going to get started now?" Barry asked.

Robb nodded and turned to me, "Ready to investigate the theater?" he asked.

I nodded in excitement, "Definitely."

We all said our goodbyes and good luck's to each other before we split up once more. Robb and I walked towards where the theater was located. As we walked, Robb told me a little more of what the client had filled them in on during the tour.

"I know that you probably already know a little bit about the woman in the theater from reading the claims from the client but she told us more on the tour." Robb started. I nodded and waited for him to go on, "So the story goes that the lead actress of the play was in love with the lead actor, David, but he didn't return her feelings so during the live performance of the play, she took the dagger from his belt and stabbed herself with it in front of the whole audience. She died right there on the stage in front of her unrequited love."

I gasped and turned to look at Robb in shock, "That's horrible." I voiced sensitively.

And it really was. I probably would have been very upset as well if Dustin wouldn't have returned my feelings when I told him, but I wouldn't have gone to the extreme of killing myself right in front of him, much less an entire audience. I couldn't even imagine what kind of trauma that the woman had gone through.

"It is. Now, workmen inside the theater will still hear a woman's voice, talking and weeping, even when the theater is completely empty." Robb continued.

"Wow, sounds like some good claims." I said. "This should be interesting."

"Well," Robb said, "We're about to find out."

It was then that I noticed that we had stopped in front of the theater. I was so engrossed in our conversation about the suicidal actress that I hadn't even noticed that we had come to a stop. I had completely forgotten that the cameras were following us as well.

Robb opened up the door for me and let me walk in first. The second I walked into the theater, all my breath left me. Despite the darkness that I was walking into, I could still make out several aspects of the theater. It was utterly astounding at how beautiful the place was. The place was absolutely huge and probably took up at least thirty of mine and Aisha's tiny apartment. The ceiling was a large dome with elaborate paintings on it. The original seats were still intact and were made of burgundy velvet. The stage itself was wooden and still had a large red curtain hanging up.

"This is amazing…" I breathed out.

"Tell me about it." he replied. "All of this is original as well. They've done a little restoration, but most of it is still the original paintings and woodworkings."

"It's been preserved incredibly well," I commented as I walked up to one of the velvet seats and placed my hand on it, feeling the fine fabric in my hands.

Robb replied, "That it definitely has."

The first ten or fifteen minutes while we were in the room, Robb and I walked around the theater. We examined little nooks and crannies of the place and kept commenting on how beautiful we thought the place was. We also tried to collect a feel for the place as we were looking around as well. So far, I hadn't picked up any majorly creepy feelings. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing though.

"Do you want to do an EVP session now?" Robb asked me.

I nodded, "Sure."

He reached into his pockets and pulled out the audio recorder. It had been a very warm May day and it was still warm outside, especially inside the theater, so I hadn't brought a jacket with me and neither had Robb.

"Why don't you head up to the balcony while I go down by the stage? You have your mini-DV recording, right?" he asked me.

"Yeah, it's recording." I replied.

"Okay, let's get this started. Let me know if you feel or see anything up in the balcony." Robb instructed me.

We split up, one of the camera man following Robb while the other one followed me as I went up onto the balcony where the best-of-the-best would sit during the performances at the castle. I made myself comfortable by leaning against the edge of the balcony and focusing my mini-DV on Robb's form that was now seating in one of the seats right in front of the stage. His cameraman, Will, was now seated right across from him in the opposite set of seats. The cameraman who was filming me, Zach, was standing about ten feet away from me.

"Hello my name is Robb and that up there in the balcony is my friend, Mercedes." Robb started out. I could hear his voice surprisingly very well, but then again the acoustics of the theater were probably really good as well, so it shouldn't have surprised me in the least.

Through the lens of my mini-DV, I saw gesture for me to speak, so I did. "As Robb said, my name is Mercedes. We aren't here to harm you. We just want to speak with you. Some of the workers here have heard you in the past. Can you speak for us now?" I asked slowly.

"Mercedes and I would like to give you the chance to perform again. Do you think you could do that for us?" Robb picked up after it was quiet for a while. "Tonight could be the start of a brilliant comeback for you."

I sniggered slightly when I heard Robb's words and began to think about what he had said. I would love to see a ghostly performance. It would actually be pretty cool. I stopped my snickering through when I heard a small creak. Seconds later Robb turned around, "Did you hear that?" he asked me.

"Yeah I did." I answered him. "It sounded like a creak on the stage, right?"

"Yeah, right on center stage," Robb replied. He shined his flashlight around the stage, "But the stage is completely empty."

"Was that you who made that creaking sound?" I asked into the darkness. "If so, do you think you could make that sound again for us?"

When I didn't get an answer after a while, Robb stood up and got onto the stage, looking around. I moved around on the balcony a little, shining my IR camera light around to see if anything was up there with me.

"What would you do if I was David? Could you show me what you would do to me if I was your David?" Robb asked after a long period of silence from the both of us.

Just seconds after Robb spoke, I heard a voice. It wasn't loud and I could barely understand what it said because it sounded so far away, but I still heard it. My eyes widened with surprise and once again, I scanned my IR light around to see if I could capture anything.

"Did you hear that?" Robb asked me. "It sounded like a female voice." he said. He must have been able to hear it better than me because when I had heard it, I couldn't distinguish whether it was female or male. "It definitely sounded like a woman, although I couldn't make out exactly what she was saying." he added.

Robb and I were both quiet for a while as we both watched the stage intently, as if something would appear before our very eyes any second. I was spooked slightly when I started hearing shuffling in the balcony with me. It was almost as if someone was up here, moving around with me. At first I thought it was Zach, my cameraman, so I decided to ask him. "Hey Zach, is that you moving around?"

"No," Zach replied. "I'm standing right here."

I turned around and saw Zach standing in the same exact place where I had last seen him. "Wow," I said. I turned back towards the stage to tell Robb, "Hey Robb, I'm hearing shuffling up here. It was coming from right behind me when I was looking out into the theater."

"It wasn't your cameraman?" Robb asked me.

"No, I asked Zach if it was him before I told you. He's been standing in the same place the entire time we've been up here." I replied.

I turned completely away from Robb and began to walk around the balcony, shining my light on every surface, trying to see what could have made the shuffling noise. I checked for people and animals but came up empty handed.

"Is there anyone up here with me?" I asked.

"Go ahead," Robb added, "You can go right up to Mercedes and touch her if you want."

I sighed. I really didn't want anything touching me. There was something that was slightly unnerving about something touching you that wasn't there for you to see with your own eyes. Of course, that was part of ghost hunting so I knew I had to get used to it.

"Robb's right," I said, sucking up my courage. "You can touch me. You can come closer to me and speak with me if you want." I waited awhile with absolutely no response. It was as if whatever had been there with me had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't cause you any harm. But, if you still don't want to come closer to me, can you give me a sign that you are still here with me?"

I sighed heavily. I was slightly disappointed that I wasn't getting any response to my efforts.

"Are you getting anything up here?" Robb called up to me.

"No, not a thing," I replied sadly.

"Do you want to do an interview now?" Zach asked me.

I shrugged, "Sure I guess." I told him.

Whenever one of us on the team had a personal experience, the cameramen would pull us off to the side and we would speak to the camera, telling them exactly what we had experienced, that way the viewers would have a better understanding at what was going on.

Zach tampered with the camera for a moment while I stood in place, waiting for him to let me know when to start talking. "Ready when you are," he said finally.

"Robb and I are investigating in the theater. We were hearing some voices but couldn't figure out exactly where they were coming from." I started. "I was up in the balcony when I started hearing some s-shuffling behind me. But, when I tried to get whatever I had heard to happen again, I didn't have any luck. We had all sorts of equipment running though, so I hope that it picked s-something up."

When I finished, I was proud of myself. I had only stuttered twice.

"You're getting better," Zach commented.

I grinned, "Thanks."

I didn't fear the cameramen, they were all nice and I was slowly becoming friends with the crew as well as my cast-mates. We had about seven who followed us around all the time. They were mostly older and I think Zach was actually the youngest one out of all of them.

Robb and I did some more EVP work for a while before we finally decided to wrap it up. "EVP session end. Mercedes and Robb in the theater."

"Ready to head back?" Robb asked me as we met down near the doors.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"I think we're going to switch teams now, it's been a couple hours."

I gasped slightly, "Seriously?" I asked. Robb nodded in reply. "Wow, it went by so fast."

"That's what usually happens." he commented.

* * *

"Did anyone get anything?" Robb asked when we were all gathered around at command central.

Dustin and Aisha shook their heads, "Nothing in the tower." they said.

"Yeah, we didn't get much of anything in the wine either." Joe said, speaking for himself and Barry.

"Well, we did hear some taps, but nothing major." Barry added.

Robb nodded, "Mercedes and I heard some voices and shuffling around in the theater that we couldn't explain. I think we're going to switch up now though. Dustin, you and I are going to be going down into the dungeon and investigating."

"Sounds good, Brotha." Dustin replied with a grin.

"Then, Mercedes, you and Barry are going to head up to the Depository where the Saint is." Robb said.

I grinned over at Barry, "Ready to investigate the Saint?" I asked him.

"Sounds like a plan," Barry replied happily in his thick accent.

"Aisha and Joe, you two can go into the theater and follow up on the experiences that Mercedes and I had. Everyone okay with that?"

We nodded and I turned to Barry and grinned at him, "You ready?" I asked him.

"Let's go," Barry replied and we left command central and headed towards the Depository where the Saint was kept.

I had investigated with Barry at Wicklow's Gaol, but it hadn't been for a very long period of time. I had seen the way that Barry investigated on the show before I had become a member of GHI so I was looking forward to seeing how he worked in real life.

On the way to the Depository, Barry and I talked about the Saint that was in the small room that basically resembled a closet. Barry told me about what the guide had told him, Dustin and Robb during the tour.

"It just seems so unbelievably bizarre to me that someone of such high power would be stuffed in a closet." I voiced after he was finished.

"It is incredibly peculiar I'll give you that." Barry replied.

We entered the small room and I gasped upon seeing the Saint. It was old and in a glass case. There was small ornaments adorning it but other than that, it looked so out of place in a room that was used for storing old furniture. I scrunched up my nose slightly in distaste.

"This is horrible." I commented.

"It really is." Barry said. "I had the same reaction as you when I saw the remains as well. I think we all did." Barry then pulled out his recorder and handed it to me, "Would you like to lead the session?" he asked with a small grin.

"Of course," I replied happily.

I messed with the recorder, turning it on, "Okay, this would be Barry and Mercedes in the small storage room with the remains of the Saint. EVP session."

Barry and I both waited a while before we actually started asking questions or speaking.

"Hello," I spoke. "My name is Mercedes and I'm in here with my friend Barry. We want to document your presence for the owners of this place. They would like to learn your name so that they can document your presence."

"Would you please be so kind as to speak with us?" Barry continued. "We have with us a piece of equipment tonight that will be able to record your voice. All you have to do is speak and it will be able to detect you."

"Could you please let us know your name? The owners of the castle want to lay you down to rest properly. Knowing your name would make the process much easier." I added.

"If the presence that is with us tonight isn't the one of the individual laying before us, maybe you could help us understand who this person was." Barry said.

We were both silent for a while after that and we didn't pick up anything. After I while we started asking the usual and routine questions back and forth.

"_Why are you still here?"_

"_Is there more than one of you?"_

"_Are you angry for how the people here have treated you?"_

"_Who are you? Or rather, who were you?"_

We continued on, leaving time for whatever was with us, if there was anything with us, time to respond to us. Unfortunately, once again, I wasn't getting any creepy vibes. I wasn't getting any unexplainable sensations.

_Zero. _

_Nada. _

_Zilch. _

I was getting _nothing_ in reply.

I groaned and fiddled around with the recorder in my hand for a while before I spoke finally. I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth as I thought them. "How come every synonym for '_nothing'_ starts with either a '_z_' or an '_n_'?" I asked Barry randomly.

Barry looked over at me in surprise and raised his eyebrows, "Now how did that thought come to your brain?" he asked me with a chuckle.

I sighed, "We aren't getting anything in reply and I'm not getting any vibes from inside this place. And I was thinking in my head, '_We are getting _nothing_ in reply._ _Zero. Nada. Zilch. Nil. Zip._'" I told him. "All of those are synonyms of '_nothing'_ and they all start with a '_n_' or a '_z_' and then I thought, '_Why is that_?' and I guess I spoke my thoughts out loud."

Barry's face scrunched up slightly and for a minute I considered that maybe I had offended him in some way. I wasn't sure how I could have offended him by talking about synonyms. Suddenly his mouth opened and loud guffaws began to escape his lips. He started to hold his sides as he laughed at my statement for nearly five minutes. I sat patiently, waiting for him to stop laughing.

"Mercedes," he finally said through gasps of air, "You are one strange woman."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?" I questioned him warily.

Barry ran his hands over his face while he shook his head at me several times in a row. "It isn't an insult, dear. It's a compliment. There needs to be more people like you out there in the world. All I can say is that you have an interesting thought process."

I giggled, "I've been told that a few times."

The walkie clicked on from in Barry's pocket, "_Okay guys, we're going to switch it up again_." Robb said.

"Okay Robb, we'll be there in a few moments." Barry said into the walkie before he turned to me. "Ready to head back?" he asked me.

I nodded and together we left the room, leaving the Saint behind.

"EVP session end," I said.

* * *

_**Isn't Mercedes such a freak? Lol. But in a good way. Anyways, please review :) **_

_**If I get enough reviews, I may just update tomorrow night. Think of it as an apology for not updating as often as I said that I would!**_

* * *


	12. SC: Part 5 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Okay guys, I think this right here is my longest chapter to date (not including authors notes or random junk like that, because we all know I have a huge tendency to ramble on and on, like right now). I think you all will enjoy this chapter because it has a ton of variety to it. You have some good intense investigation (Or, at least I tried. I can't make up false evidence. It doesn't feel right.), some humor, some romance and at the end: a little fun for the birthday girl. So I hope that you guys all enjoy it. Feel free to leave me some reviews and as always check out my website because I updated it and the new outfits and pictures are uploaded there as well :) So read, enjoy, favorite and alert!!_

_- Rip!_

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_Unbreakable _by: Fireflight

and

_Let It Rock_ by: Kevin Rudolf

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 5 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

Coming back to command central took absolutely no time at all for Barry and I, but we were still the last ones there. Robb, Dustin, Aisha and Joe were already present and accounted for when we arrived. Robb quickly told us about our new teams: Robb and Joe in the old part of the castle, Barry and Aisha in the Summer House and Dustin and myself in the wine cellar. I was pleased with the new teams and grinned over at Dustin, who I found was already grinning back at me.

"I think these will be the last time we switch teams for the night," Robb explained. "Make sure that you hit the new places that you are assigned thoroughly. Let us know by the walkie if you are going to investigate a different place than what you were assigned. Let's get it done people!" he said excitedly.

I grinned and looked at Dustin. "Do you want to take the thermal camera down there?" he asked me.

I shrugged, "I've never really used it before." I said.

"It's really simple, I'll show you how. It might come in handy if we get any unexplained cold spots or something down there." he reasoned.

"Well, then let's take it down there then."

Dustin and I split off from the others and made our way towards the cellar with two cameramen following us, Zach and other man, Gavin. The cellar was a little chillier than the rest of castle had been, but it wasn't all that bad. This time the only equipment that we had was the thermal camera, which Dustin was holding, and the audio recorder, which I had in my jeans pocket.

As standard procedure, we spent five or ten minutes just walking around the room without using our equipment to get a feel for the place. The only feeling I was getting was a slight chill, but I figured that it was just because the place was a wine cellar and because it was underground.

"Okay," Dustin started, "While I do a thermal sweep, do you want to start an EVP session?" he asked me.

I nodded, "That sounds good." I pulled out the audio recorder and powered it up. I had used it twice during the night already so it was getting easier to do despite the darkness. The audio recorders that GHI used were more advanced that the simple ones Aisha and I had used before we joined GHI.

"EVP session in the wine cellar with Dustin and Mercedes," I rattled off into the recorder.

Dustin chuckled, "Sounds like you're doing a talk show or something."

I rolled my eyes at his comment but I didn't reply. Instead I started our session while Dustin paned the thermal around the room. He had explained it to me on the walk over to the cellar. The thermal camera measured heat. The screen of the thermal when it was running looked like a heat map photograph only it was video instead of a picture. If there were any fluctuations in heat signature down in the cellar, we would pick it up on the screen.

"Is there anyone down here tonight that would like to speak with us?" I asked. "My name is Mercedes and I have with me my friend, Dustin." For me, sometimes it got old asking the same questions over and over and over again, but I knew I needed to reintroduce myself. "Neither Dustin or myself are here to harm you, we'd simply like to ask you questions. We have with us different pieces of equipment that will be able to detect your presence. If you could please speak with us, we'd appreciate it very much."

I waited a couple minutes before I started to ask questions. "What is your name?" Pause. "How long have you been here?" Pause. "Are there more than one of you present here?" Pause. "How long have you resided here at the castle?"

I was getting no response to my questions that I asked so I let Dustin take the reigns for a while and ask some questions. "Why do you stay down here in the basement?" he asked. Personally, I didn't think that was a very good question because whatever was down here in the basement with us, _if there even _was_ anything down here_, probably didn't stay in the basement all the time. I really wanted to just sit down and have an actual casual conversation because I had always thought that the best way to get a good EVP was to treat the spirit like an actual person. It'd probably be more apt to respond that way. But, I couldn't control how Dustin investigated or what kind of questions he asked, so I stayed quiet as he asked more questions. "Who was it that put you down here?" Dustin then asked.

He continued his questioning for about ten more minutes before we both fell silent, just waiting and watching for anything that could be a sign that there was a spirit down in the cellar with us.

"Hey Mercedes!" Dustin abruptly called out from further in the cellar. "I think I am getting something on the thermal."

"Really?" I asked. My heartbeat started to pick up slightly with excitement. I swiftly walked over to where Dustin was standing, completely frozen, staring at the screen of the thermal camera. I took one look at that before exclaiming, "What the hell _is _that!?" I asked him.

What appeared on the thermal was something free floating. It had a round shape that resembled a head that started out right red, meaning extremely hot, in the centered, then eventually faded to a green-ish yellow, which still was quite warm. Beneath the head-shaped anomaly was something that resembled a pair of shoulders that was colored the same yellow-ish green as the outer part of the head-shaped anomaly. At first glance I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

_It looks exactly like a person!_

"It looks like a person!" I exclaimed, saying my thoughts out loud.

Dustin nodded, "I know!" he replied, completely shocked. He started pointing at the screen of the thermal with his index finger. "That looks like a head," he pointed at the red, orange and yellow circle, "And that looks like shoulders and a torso." He finished, gesturing to the yellow mass beneath it.

"Wow, that's amazing." I said.

I bent down to examine the anomaly closer before I looked back up to see what was ahead of us. I shined my flashlight around but didn't see anything in the immediate distance. I looked between the thermal camera screen and the hallway in front of us several times before I noticed something that neither Dustin nor I had seen at first.

"Dustin, I don't think that's anything paranormal." I told him sadly.

I could practically hear his frown from beside me, "Why do you think that?" he asked.

"You're training the thermal camera right on one of the lights. It's going to leave a heat residue behind, right?" I asked him. "But I could be wrong. At least back up and look at the light above us so that I can have some peace of mind." I requested.

Dustin did as I asked and we got a very similar figure to the first, "Ah, there we go. It looks exactly like the one that's further up ahead expect that it's a lot larger." he said. "And the archway is up there so that would form the exact figure of a head and shoulders." he said with a sigh. "Sweet, well that's debunked. Good job." he said, looking at me and winking. "It was pretty cool to look at though, you got to admit."

"I honestly think that's the most action that I've seen all night." I said sardonically.

Dustin smirked, "Really now?" he asked me.

Raising an eyebrow at him I nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

"We'll have to fix that."

My eyes widened at the comment that he had mumbled. I wasn't even sure if I was meant to hear it but I did. I looked around and was pleased to find that the cameramen had fallen back about fifteen feet so they probably didn't pick up our conversation.

Unfortunately, I decided I needed to change the subject, "Do you want to go try someplace else? We aren't getting much of anything here." I told him.

"Yeah, we can go outside for a bit and get some fresh air." Dustin suggested.

"Okay." I replied.

Dustin and I told Gavin and Zach that we were going to take a short break and grad some water from the vans. They agreed to let us walk there alone, since apparently they wanted to get some good shots of the castle, and to radio them when we were going to start investigating again.

The temperature outside of the castle had dropped almost tenfold by the time that Dustin and I finally exited the cellar and made our way outside. My only guess was that while we had been inside investigating, the night air had finally sunken in, making it much colder outside. It was only mid-May after all. The Czech Republic wasn't having any of those scorching summer nights yet. I found myself wishing that I had brought something more than just my long sleeved shirt.

I was able to hold off my shivering long enough to get to the vans where Dustin grabbed us two cold water bottles. As soon as I took a drink of the ice cold water, I started to shiver. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

"You cold?" Dustin asked me quietly.

"N-no I'm n-not." I lied, But, I was unable to keep my voice was cracking when a violent shiver rocked through me.

"Liar." Dustin sighed loudly, "Did you not bring a jacket with you?" he asked.

"No," I replied, "It was hot earlier and I didn't think that I'd need one tonight."

"The temperature does drop at night you know." he teased. "I think I might have a sweatshirt in the van, we're going there for some water anyways so we might as well get you something warm to wear. I usually keep one in there just in case anyways. I knew when we left and you kept that flimsy shirt on that you'd get cold."

I looked down at my red long sleeved shirt and then back at Dustin, "My shirt is _not _flimsy."

"It is if you're cold." he retorted.

"Dustin, please…" I said. "I don't want any s-special treatment. I'll be fine. It's only a f-few more hours."

And as if god was trying to punish me even more, his bottom fell out in a pout. It was nearly enough to make me give in. "Mercedes…" he whined.

I turned my eyes to the ground and huffed in exasperation.

"Please…" he pleaded with me, "It isn't special treatment—I swear. If Aisha didn't bring a jacket and was shivering like you are right now, I'd offer her my jacket as well." he told me amiably.

A growl escaped my lips, "Damnit," I ground out angrily and stomped my foot childishly. "Why do you have to be so god damn cute?"

"Are you having a fit?" Dustin laughed. "Do you need a time out?" he told me sarcastically, raising the pitch of his voice slightly as if he was talking to a young child.

I crossed my arms over my chest, "Shut up, Pari."

"Just take the jacket, babe." he said slowly.

I watched from the corner of my eye as he reached into the van and pulled out a lump of cloth. His eyes then tired to burrow into mine which, as usual, my entire body to feel as though it was on fire. I hated how his gaze was always so intense. It virtually almost left me weak in the knees afterwards.

"Fine," I whispered.

"What was that?" he brought a hand to his ear as if he couldn't hear me.

I growled again, "Don't push it, Pari."

"You're endearing when you're angry." Dustin said arbitrarily with a tinge of sarcasm laced in. "And I like it when you call me '_Pari'_. It's cute."

"I do it when I'm pissed at you." I reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

Dustin chuckled, "And again, you're cute when you're mad so it all works out."

He stepped closer to me and held out the upending garment. I stared at it with distaste. As much as I wanted to wear it because it was Dustin's, I didn't want to receive special treatment just because I was his girlfriend. He said he would do the same for Aisha, but would he really? Would he think ahead to bring an extra sweatshirt just because a female crew member got cold? If he did, there had to be some kind of alternative move behind it and in my case, it was that I was his girlfriend.

"I'll give you a free kiss if you wear the jacket." he offered.

I giggled, "Oh, so now I have to pay to kiss you otherwise?"

Dustin rolled his eyes, "No, it's just—" He cut himself off and restarted, "Mercedes, please take my jacket." he said seriously. This time he wasn't playing around and he unleashed the full power of his deep green eyes against me.

I gave in.

Huffing in annoyance, I grabbed the sweatshirt from his hands and slipped it over me head. It was dark navy blue and said '_EMT'_ in bright white lettering. I momentarily wondered what the EMT part was about. Dustin and I had never really discussed what he did besides ghost hunting and I wondered if maybe he was an EMT or something. The sweatshirt was pretty big on me but it was nice and toasty at the same time. Plus, it smelled just like Dustin, _peppermints and candy_, and I wondered if he had worn his sometime previously in the night because there was no way his scent could be that strong on it if he hadn't have wore it formerly.

"That thing is like a dress on you, Babe." Dustin mocked me, as he came up to me and grabbing my hands in his which were swallowed by the mass of sweatshirt.

"You were the one who insisted that I wear the damn thing," I replied. "I can take it off."

Dustin released my hands and instead wrapped his arms around me tightly in a hug, "No you aren't." he grinned. "You're keeping that on you for the rest of the night." he said sternly.

"And what if I don't?" I challenged, staring up at his angular face.

Dustin laughed, "You don't want to find out." he tried hard to make it sound threatening, but he really sounded like a pip-squeak of a little kid trying to be all big and bad.

I let out an unladylike snort, "I'd like to see you try." I said.

There was a loud beep right after I spoke that made us jump away from each other in surprise. Dustin reached into his pocket and grabbed his walkie while I glared at the thing, "Ten bucks says it's Robb." I bet.

Dustin chuckled, "I'm not betting against you because I know that's who it is. He seems to have a tendency for scaring us to death with the walkie."

"He _really_ needs to stop doing that." I sighed.

"Go for Dustin, what is it Brotha?" he asked into the walkie, all the while grinning at me.

And just like clockwork, Robb's voice responded, "_Joe and I had a whole bunch of experiences up in the older part of the castle and we were wondering if you and Mercedes wanted to go follow up on what we experienced_."

Dustin turned to me, silently asking if I was alright with the plan. I nodded. "Sure thing, we'll be up there in a few minutes." he told Robb.

-**x-x-x**-

"You don't think that anyone will say anything about me wearing your sweatshirt, will you?" I asked Dustin as we started to make our way up to the oldest part of the castle.

"Nah, I don't think they'll have a problem with it." he reassured me.

"Good."

When we reached the building, after walking up a huge hill I might add, Dustin reached out and opened the door for me like a true gentlemen, "After you." he told me.

I grinned, "Why thank you."

"Zach and Gavin said that they'd meet us over here. They were going to have to come from the opposite side of the castle. Apparently they were trying to get a lot of different angles of the castle for the show." Dustin informed me. "How that got them get over to the opposite side of the castle in less than ten minutes, I'll probably never know."

"Hey," I giggled. "Never insult a cameraman on a mission."

Dustin rolled his eyes, "Right." he said. "So, what do you want to do up here? Run thermal and audio again."

I sighed, "I guess."

Zach and Gavin arrived a few minutes later and then Dustin and I started to make our way through the hallways of the older castle. We started another EVP session. Again, we went through the routine questions for a while when my idea from earlier when we were in the wine cellar popped into my head.

'_I wonder if Dustin would mind if we just sat down and talked to the spirit as if it was a person with us_?' I thought.

I knew there was only way I could find out if he had a problem with it or not—I had to ask him. So that's what I did, "Dustin, would you mind if I ask some out of the norm questions?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?" His voice came from about five or ten feet away from me. I assumed that he was walking around, panning the thermal again, so the fact that he was so far away from me didn't surprise me.

I was slightly nervous, running to idea by him. When I was nervous, I tended to rant a lot. "Well, how would you feel if you were deceased and a whole bunch of random strangers came and started asking that you show yourself to them, it would probably scare them. We also ransack and prod them with equipment that they probably have no idea what it does, much less what it does even if you explain to them what it does, they could even be afraid of it! I mean some of these spirits could be hundreds of years old. They are not going to understand modern electricity. Well, maybe they might if they are like Einstein…or very observant but…" I was getting sidetracked and I started rambling.

Dustin had moved over closer to me and was wearing a blank expression so I knew that I needed to get back to my point, "But, back to the point," I continued, "When you first meet a person you don't ask why they are where they are. You don't ask how they died or their life story, you chat with them about simple things, small talk. We should just speak with the spirits as if they are people and not spirits. Maybe we will get a response."

For a moment Dustin was silent, "I think—well, that's actually a good idea, Mercedes. I don't know why I never really thought of that before." he said. "So what do you want to do then?"

I looked around the room for a minute before I decided on what plan of action I wanted to take. "Well first things first, let's put up the thermal for a bit, we can always get it back out later. For now we can just use our audio recorders."

Bending slightly at the knees, I lowered myself to the ground so that I was sitting Indian Style on the ground. I quickly motioned for Dustin to do the same. He raised an eyebrow at me but didn't question my motives. He squatted slightly even thought I knew he probably wouldn't be able to swat like he was for long, I didn't tell him otherwise.

I placed the audio recorder between us and spoke, "Hello, my name is Mercedes Culvert. I am twenty-four years old and I am from Whitefield, New Hampshire in North America." I said.

I looked over to Dustin and had him follow my example, "My name is Dustin Pari. I'm thirty-one and I live in Providence, Rhode Island in North America."

"Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself now that we've told you about us? Do you live here at this castle? It's very pretty. You must be proud of the people who take care of it because it's in wonderful condition." I spoke.

"This is weird…" Dustin whispered.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Look, we can try it my way for a little bit and if we don't get any response we can go back to shoving cameras at them and asking them how they died." I said harshly.

He held up his hands is surrender, "I wasn't mocking your idea, it's just different only using one piece of equipment and telling something I can't even see about my life." he said.

"I can go into another room if you'd like." I suggested sarcastically.

Dustin frowned and I knew that I had offended him, "Mercedes…" he said softly.

I ignored him and focused on my questions, "I love art and music. Can you tell me about the art that is in this castle? The original art I mean. Which is your favorite? There are some very amazing pieces that are displayed here in the castle." I commented.

I continued like that for a while. I talked about the art of the castle and I also discussed music, my job, my home life, my family, among other random topics. It was odd, discussing my whole life's story to possibly thin air, but I didn't care. I wanted to test my theory out.

While I spoke and talked, Dustin stayed deathly silent. He surprised me when he finally started talking as well. "I have a mother and a father, both who are of Italian heritage. I have three siblings who I am very close to. Two are twins, female and younger than me. I also have an older brother. When I was younger I used to look up to him and wanted to grow up to be just like him. Can you tell me about your family?" Dustin explained and then asked. I held my breath as he spoke because it seemed like he finally accepted my idea of how to converse with the spirit. He continued, "I have three jobs other outside of working with my friends. I work as a cardiac EMT, an Anaesthetist and I also manage an ambulance company, so I'm pretty busy. What was your job? Did you enjoy it?"

"We just wanted to sit down and have an actual chat with you. I can't imagine that people often come to see you and to just become your friend. Do you understand what it is that we are trying to do?" I asked.

Then, from behind me, I heard what sounded like a soft female whisper. My head whipped around to the direction of where I had heard the voice at the same time as Dustin leaned forward. "Did you hear that?" he exclaimed.

"Yes I did." I stood up and started to walk towards the window of the tower that was behind me as well. I leaned against it and peered down at the city below me, "I think we're high up enough that we wouldn't pick up any noise from the city—dontcha think?" I asked.

"Yeah we are. Whatever it was sounded as if it was right here in the room with us anyways." he grinned. Dustin looked really excited, almost as if he could barely contain himself. I almost laughed—_almost_.

"Could you tell what it said?" I asked anxiously.

"It was really short." Dustin replied. "I can't be for sure."

"I couldn't either." I said with a frown. "But hey, I told you that my idea would work. You just needed to be patient."

"I _am_ and _was_ patient." Dustin replied, rolling his eyes at me.

I decided to let the argument be and continued with the matter at hand, "If that was you that just talked to us, could you please speak again. We couldn't quite hear what it was that you said. We'd really like to though—could you please repeat it." I said encouragingly.

"Or you can say something more." Dustin added.

We continued for a while, asking the voice if it would speak again for us. Unfortunately all we got was _nothing_. It was pretty disappointing because I really thought that Dustin and I were on a roll when we had heard the voice. But we weren't hearing anything further.

But, at least we could say that we tried. Plus, we had our audio equipment running so we could always find something more in analysis. I just had to tell myself to be patient and to wait.

Dustin asked the next question, "Do you mind that we are here with you tonight?"

"If you don't want us bothering you, we will leave you peacefully right now. But, if you don't want us here, you need to let us know." I said.

Still nothing.

I looked over to Dustin to say just that when I noticed that he was staring at his watch with a smirk on his face. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

Dustin looked up, smirk still in place, "Nothing. I think we should head up now thought." he suggested.

I sighed, "Okay, that's fine. We aren't getting much else here anyways."

We decided that we'd walk down to central command and see where the others were, if they were even there at all. Dustin and I were just at the bottom of the large hill with Zach and Gavin following us with the cameras like usual when the walkie went off. I glared at it, "If that's Robb again…" I mumbled.

Dustin clicked it on, "Go ahead, I hear ya." he said.

"_Dustin, Mercedes…it's Barry. Aisha and I are up on the third floor near the Summer House. We're still hearing noises above and below. Do you think that you's could come up and help Aisha and I investigate as well. We need more people up here_." Barry chimed brightly.

"Okay, Brotha, we're on our way back up." Dustin replied before placing the walkie in his pocket.

I turned and stared up at the hill in front of us in exasperation, "You've got to be kidding me…" I groaned.

"Back up the hill." Dustin said, fake enthusiastically.

We stomped out way back up the hill and got to the Summer House. It was pitch black so Dustin used his flashlight to light the way from us. I opened the first door to walk into the room when Dustin and Gavin stopped, whispered to each other for a moment and hung back a bit. I figured they had just stopped for a second and continued towards the second set of doors with Zach. As soon as I opened them, I was literally shocked into a standstill.

"SURPRISE!!" Eight voices yelled happily before the whole room started to echo with laughter and clapping.

I looked around the room and saw Robb, Aisha, Barry and Joe as well as the cameramen who had been with us all night: Chad, Blaine, Will and Jim. I started laughing and couldn't stop a huge toothy grin from spreading across my features. I felt a hand on the small of my back and turned to look at Dustin who was grinning at me, "You like it?" he whispered.

"You knew?" I asked him accusingly.

He shrugged, "Yeah I did."

I smacked him arm in reply, "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Dustin broke into a full laugh, "It was a _surprise _party, of course I wasn't going to tell you, Mercedes." he reasoned.

I rolled my eyes playfully before turning back to all the people who were gathered around a large table with plates, cups, a couple bottles of soda and a box that I assumed had a cake inside it. I felt happy tears coming to my eyes as I looked from each of the people who were still clapping and smiling brightly at me. My eyes landed on my best friend, who opened her arms in return with a mischievous smirk on her face. I ran towards them and practically tackled Aisha in a hug.

"You smell like man!" she accused me as soon as I hugged her.

I raised an eyebrow at her and sighed, "I got cold so Dustin and I went down to the vans and he found me a sweatshirt to wear. I think he wore it earlier tonight or something so that's why I '_smell like man_' as you so kindly put it." I explained.

"Right," she said, semi-skeptically.

"It was your idea, wasn't it?" I mumbled into her shoulder, changing the subject.

We pulled away from each other and she smiled kindly, "I wasn't going to let you get away with everyone forgetting your birthday. One of the claims is that there is a woman in a red dress that comes forward whenever there is a party thrown. We called in a couple favors and had them bring in some stuff for us when you and Dustin were investigating in the tower." she told me seriously. "Happy birthday, honey!" she said happily.

I laughed, "Honey?"

Aisha sighed, "Eh, it seemed like the thing to say at the time."

"You sounded like my mother when you said that." I told her.

She gasped, "Don't ever compare me to her. I am way more disorganized than her." Aisha joked. "Anyways, we have all the stuff that you could ever need to have a party. We have soda and cake, a small stereo with some music on it to play in the background. We found some of Dustin's CDs in the van to play." she said, with a proud grin. "I tried to talk Robb into getting you a piñata but he wouldn't budge on that one. We settled for a frilly party hat instead."

"A frilly party hat?" I asked warily.

Robb's voice came from behind me, "Yes a frilly party hat, and you _have _to wear it too. I don't want any moaning and groaning coming from you." he teased as he held out a small, but still pink and frilly, plastic party hat. I sighed and placed the hat on my head. "How does it look?" I asked.

"Fantastic." Joe, Barry and one of the cameramen, I think it was Will, all said at the same time.

I looked over to Aisha, "I think we're wearing off on them." I said. In reply, she giggled as she gave me a high-five.

"Time for the cake!" Robb announced.

He picked up a white box and brought it over to the table in front of me. I opened the lid and used a flashlight that Aisha handed me to see the actual cake. "It's the only thing we could get at last minute notice." Aisha told me sadly.

I looked over the cake, "It's perfect." I said happily.

The cake was pure white and round shaped with little multi-colored star sprinkles all over the top and of course read '_Happy Birthday_' in bright purple icing. It actually looked delicious and I couldn't wait to get a piece of it.

"Do you mind if I cut it and serve?" Robb asked me.

I shrugged, "It's fine with me." I told him.

Robb was about the use a knife to cut the cake when Aisha held up her hands, "Wait! She has to blow of the candles!" she exclaimed.

I looked down at the cake and then back at Aisha, "Uhm, Aish, there isn't any candles on the cake." I said.

"That's because we didn't put them on yet, silly." she retorted, pushing me out of the way with her hip and pulling some little plastic candles and a lighter out of her pocket.

I looked at the lighter and candles apprehensively before leaning over to Dustin and Robb who were standing beside me, "I'm not even going to ask why she had those stuffed in her pocket." I mumbled to them.

Dustin replied, "She's always prepared." he reasoned.

I shrugged, "I guess your right."

After Aisha had lighted the candles, I blew them out, making a wish as was a tradition. For a moment before I blew my candles out, I had a problem of knowing what to wish for. I was happy and didn't want anything else in my life. But then a thought struck me.

_I wish that my parents approve and get along with all of the GHI team. Especially Dustin._

I blew out the candles and everyone clapped once more. This time, Robb was able to cut the cake without any interruptions.

The cake was fantastic, just as I thought it would be. After we had all finished eating up the entire yummy cake, Aisha put a couple of Dustin's CDs into the small stereo and was about to press play when Robb stopped her. "You did check the CD before hand right?" he asked Aisha warily. "I don't want you playing songs that relate to a _Disco Stick_ or anything."

I snorted slightly because I never thought I would have seen the day that the words, 'Disco Stick', came from Robb's mouth. But I was proved wrong. After Aisha convinced Robb that all the songs were pre-screened and there wasn't anything inappropriate on them, she pressed play and a strong bass line began to flow from the speakers. The CD that she had placed on was a mix CD and the first song that came on was '_Let It Rock_' by Kevin Rudolf.

"I can't believe you have this on the CD." I told Dustin as he blushed. "This should be like your theme song or something. You are always saying, '_Let's Rock_.'" I teased.

Dustin opened his mouth, most likely to reply or defend himself when I was snatched up by Aisha, "Come on birthday girl, us ladies are going to have the first dance."

Back at home in Whitefield, Aisha and I really enjoyed going dancing. Aisha had always been really into dancing, especially at her huge family reunions. We actually took popular dance club songs and put dances to them and we would do them when we went out to a club. There wasn't any clubs or any place to really go dancing in Whitefield, but we often would go clubbing on weekends when we were visiting Ayden and my parents. Usually Ayden and his friends would join us. It just so happened that we had a dance for '_Let It Rock_'.

Aisha drug me out to the middle of the room and we waited for the chorus to come on while the ten guys stood around and waited for us to start. At first I felt a little self conscious and wondered how they would take our dancing, but it wasn't like we dirty danced or grinded against each other or anything. I shut my eyes and let the music take over my senses completely and slowly I felt my hips start rocking back and forth to the music. I opened my eyes and found Aisha doing the same thing. Then, as soon as the chorus hit, we were both moving, doing the dance that he had done so many times in the past.

'_1 2 3 4. Step Right. 2 2 3 4. Step Left. 3 2 3 4. Bend Down. 4 2 3 4. Reach Up and Over. Turn._' I counted in my head.

I continued through the rest of the dance, counting in my head and reminding myself what I was supposed to do next. Some of the moves were more complicated that others. Aisha and I had YouTubed some of the dances that others had created and had eventually settled on two styles combined, ballet and street dancing.

Finally, the song ended and another one came up but I couldn't stop dancing. The music was literally running through my veins and when I finally opened up my eyes and looked over at Aisha, I saw that her eyes were now open as well and she was staring back at me, grinning and laughing. I hadn't had this much fun dancing in a _long _time. I finally shifted my eyes over to the guys and they were all staring at us with impressed looks on their faces. I think Dustin's jaw was almost hitting the floor. I lifted my head and gestured for them to come join us. They all looked hesitant so I looked over to Aisha and then shifted my eyes over to the boys. She got my idea and we danced our way over to the guys. I held my hands out to Robb and Dustin while Aisha held her hands out to Barry and Joe. Dustin looked unsure while Robb tried to hold his hand up as if to tell me he'd 'pass' on the dancing.

I narrowed my eyes, "You made me wear the hat. I'm making you dance."

And before either of them could protest any further, I grabbed their hands in mine and yanked them both out onto the middle of our 'dance floor' with me. I looked over to the cameramen and gestured for them to follow as well. Zach and Blaine followed willingly. They were the youngest ones and were probably in their late-twenties at most. Gavin and Chad were in their late thirties or early forties while Will and Jim were much older but somehow they drug themselves onto the floor as well.

We had a blast dancing. Some would say that it wasn't professional to be having a dance party in a historic castle while doing a ghost hunting investigation. But, the claim was that the ghost of a woman would appear during a party. What kind of ghost would want to come out when a whole bunch of people were standing around eating cake. By dancing, we had started a _real _party and I told Robb this. He laughed when I mentioned it.

It was probably going to be a night that I'd never forget. How could I? Watching Joe, Barry and Robb do silly dances from the eighties and seventies was a sight that would be forever branded into my memory. They actually got Will and Jim out there with them while the rest of us stood back and watched. I thought I was literally going to bust my gut when Joe started doing the robot. Dustin was actually pretty good on his feet and with a little practice he was keeping up with Aisha and I when we started to do the two-step and some other popular dances.

When the CD finally ran out of tracks, we were all breathing heavily and holding our sides from laughing so hard while we were dancing. We quickly cleaned up our leftover plates and cups, as well as the cake box and grabbed the stereo. After we had cleaned out the Summer House, Robb told us that we had to take down the rest of the equipment. Despite the fact that it was nearing four in the morning, I was still really awake and pumped, completely the opposite from the Wicklow's Gaol investigation.

'_Probably a sugar rush from the cake_.' I thought.

We quickly took down all of course equipment and had it packed up in the vans in no time. When we were finished, we all gathered around the vans and I thanked everyone for the amazing party that they had thrown for me. I really was touched. They didn't have to throw me a party or go through all the trouble they had to make sure I had an awesome birthday.

"I will forever be grateful for what you guys did tonight. It definitely wouldn't be something I'd forget anytime soon." I told them.

They all murmured, "No problem" or "It was fun" or "It's not big deal" in return to my thanks.

They were all standing in front of me in basically a line so I decided to go down the row with my individual thanks. I reached over and gave Aisha another bear huge, "Thanks Aish, the party was amazing." I told her. "It was nice to get out and dance again. I'm glad that you thought of that."

She giggled and shimmied a little when she pulled away, "What can I say? I have Spanish dancing blood running through my veins. It's in my nature."

Barry was next in line.

"Hey Mercedes," he greeted. "Happy birthday, darling."

I thought back to when Aisha had called me 'honey' and laughed heartily. "What is it with pet-names tonight?" I asked as I reached out and gave him a hug in reply.

I gave Robb and Joe hugs, as well as all the cameramen who I had befriended over the previous couple weeks. With each person I exchanged words with I couldn't stop smiling. I think my smile was contagious because they were all smiling as well. I ended up saving Dustin for last. When I finally did reach over to hug him, I tried to keep the hug as innocent as possible. He wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug, literally lifting me off the ground.

"Happy birthday, Mercedes." he whispered in my ear.

It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

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_So, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I think I got a little too into describing the party, especially the dance scene but I couldn't stop writing. (: Things just flowed out and well, personally I like it. I might've been a bit too wordy for some peoples tastes but that's just my opinion. Anyways, if anyone wants to see the dance, go to Youtube and watch this video: http : //www. youtube .com/ watch?v=-h-nXIcxJMA because quite honestly, these dancers are amazing and they deserve the credit for my inspiration. :) Don't forget to review and check out the wesbite! PEACE!_


	13. SC: Part 6 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Sorry for the wait you all but here is the next chapter. I'd like to thank each and every one of you who have been sticking to this story and staying with me even though I had a bad habit of not updating or finishing things which is why I wrote this entire story before posting it. ;) We're about halfway through the Skeleton In The Closet story now :) I really hope the you enjoy this chapter, you find out about all of Mercedes background history and more about her family in this chapter. So enjoy, oh and there is plenty of Dustin/Mercedes sweetness in this chapter. _

_- RIP._

**Playlist**_: Make Damn Sure_ by: Taking Back Sunday and _Stand My Ground_ by: Within Temptation

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**(PS.** _My center alignment is still messed up for some reason, so bear with me_**)**

**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 6 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

The day after the investigation at Cesky Krumlov, Thursday, was filled with much needed sleep and lounging around. I ended up staying in my room nearly until seven o'clock that evening. When I finally did emerge from my room, I ran into Aisha and we ordered some food from the restaurant and brought it up to her room. Robb and the guys let us sleep and have a girl's day to ourselves. The boys all went out to go on an exploration of the city together while Aisha and I watched our movies in Aisha's room. It was just like old times in our apartment. We wore our pajamas, giggled about hot actors and talked about the most random subjects. The only thing that was different was that we didn't have a ton of junk food or two bowls of popcorn with us.

I didn't end up leaving Aisha's room until nearly one in the morning. I probably would have stayed later if I wouldn't have known that I had to get up early the next morning to go through the evidence with Joe, Barry and Aisha. So I drug myself back to my room where I promptly fell asleep on my bed, but not before setting my alarm for 8am. Dustin had sent me a text letting me know that we'd start the analysis at 10am the next morning and I wanted plenty of time to get ready and get woken up before I had to go over all the evidence that we had collected.

My dreams were blurry and when I woke up the next morning to the ringing of my phone, I could scarcely remember what I had even been dreaming about. I took a nice, warm shower and then wrapped myself up on a towel before going over to my suitcases to see what I would wear for the day. I ended up picking out a plain long sleeved white shirt and put it on. Over my white long sleeved shirt put on a cute white, black and grey plaid cami. I threw on a pair of stretchy dark washed _True Religion_ jeans and then placed a pair of matching plaid sandals on my feet. I went back into the bathroom and threw my hair up into a simple ponytail, put on some mascara and lip gloss and then put on some plaid earrings and bracelets before I deemed myself ready to go.

'_I certainly am _plaided_ out today_.' I thought as I twirled in front of the full length mirror in my room that Dustin was so jealous of.

In the text from the night before, Dustin had told me to just meet the others down in the conference room because Robb had once again rented out the entire thing for us to do our analysis. When I reached the conference room, I was the first one there so I just sat down at the table that was set up for us and waited for the others to arrive.

It wasn't very long before Joe and Aisha entered chatting. Aisha was wearing a red t-shirt with black jeans, red plaid flats and a few matching bangles on her wrist. I started laughing at how we kind of matched. When they heard me they looked up and asked what I was laughing at.

In reply, I pointed to Aisha and then myself, "We match." I said. "We're both wearing a ton of plaid."

Aisha smirked, "They do say that great minds think alike, right?"

I nodded in reply and changed the subject, "Where's Barry?" I asked.

Aisha answered me, "Oh, he's having to do an interview really quick. Blaine stopped him in the hallway when we were coming in. He said he'd be here in a few minutes." she explained.

I nodded and sat down. While we waited for Barry to arrive, we fell into a light conversation talking about how our nights had gone. Apparently the guys had ended up going to a small bar that had pool tables and they challenged each other to a game of pool. It had been Joe and Barry against Dustin and Robb. According to Joe, he and Barry crushed Dustin and Robb. I found this quite funny.

Barry ending up arriving just a few minutes after Joe finished telling us the tale of the pool tournament. We quickly got to work examining the evidence. There wasn't much talking about what we had to do since we had already done it once before. Joe took the camera systems, I took wireless audio and part of the thermal imaging footage, Barry worked with his camera stills and Aisha took care of all the mini-DV tapes and the other half of the thermal imaging footage.

For a long time, it seemed like eternity, we sat at that table reviewing the evidence. I liked going over the audio the best because I could close my eyes and still pay attention to what was happening because all I needed to do was just listen. The thermal was a different story. It was much harder to pay attention to and it was harder to tell if things were paranormal or not. It took me nearly twice as long to do the thermal as it did the audio.

I tried to go back and forth between the audio and the thermal, that way I wouldn't fall asleep. I told myself that switching between the two would make me more awake, although it didn't really help. The analysis was by far the most boring part of the investigations themselves but it had to be done.

I was about to doze off out of boredom when a loud snap came from the tape I was listening to. I jumped slightly and literally fumbled in my seat. Feeling the movement in the seat next to him, Barry turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I collected my bearings and then took my headphones out. "Uhm, I think I found something." I said.

"Really?" Barry asked me. I nodded but was still a little unsure if it was anything paranormal or not.

Hearing out conversation, Aisha and Joe both paused what they were listening to and waited for me to continue, "It's Dustin and Robb in the dungeon." I started off, recalling who was talking before I had heard the snap. "They left the voice recorder down there in the dungeon and then left. It's silent for a while before something comes up and turns it off. Or at least that's what it sounds like."

"I see, well let's have a listen and see exactly what we have." he said.

Barry took the headphones from me and placed them on, Aisha and Joe did the same and I played them the part of the tape where I had heard the snap. After I played them the tape and it stopped, they all turned to look at me.

"Oh yes, there is a noise there right before the tape goes off. Good catch, we'll have to show that to Robb and Dustin." Barry told me with a slight grin on his face.

I beamed back at him, "Thanks Barry," I said, thanking him for the compliment.

"Not a problem, not a problem. Well, back to work guys." he said, sighing. You could tell that even Barry was getting bored. We weren't finding a lot of evidence. We didn't even have that many personal experiences that night.

We got back to work and it was at least two more hours before Joe got our attention, telling us that he had found something. He asked us to watch the screen and we did. "This is in the Summer House, it goes by pretty quick so, make sure to pay close attention." he warned us. "This is when we were setting up for Mercedes party," he paused and gave me a smile which I returned, "And it's the room that's right outside it, you'll see a flash of light."

He played it and too my surprise it did go by quickly, almost too quickly. "Whoa!" I said.

"Can you go back on that Joe," Barry requested. "And put it on single film as well."

Joe did as Barry asked and played it again. This time, it went by a bit slower because we had it in slow motion. It looked like something had appeared, then disappeared all in about two seconds worth of time. It left us just as puzzled the second time as it had the first.

"What is it?" Aisha asked. "It goes by so quickly."

Joe shrugged, "I have absolutely no idea. No one was around when this happened cause we were all getting ready for the party and Dustin and Mercedes were still in the tower investigated. The cameramen were with us besides Zach and Gavin and of course they were with Dustin and Mercedes."

"I—I don't know what that could be." Barry mumbled. His brow flexed together and he looked at the screen diligently. "Can you play it again, just one more time please?"

"Sure." Joe replied and did just that.

After the flash of light passed, Barry sat back in his chair and sighed heavily, "It's so fast. That has to be just a short span of time, three seconds at most."

"I think that no matter how many times we watch it, we still aren't going to know." I said sadly as we watched it twice more at Barry's request. You could tell that he was frustrated that whatever it was went by so quickly that it was hard to even make out, even on single film. "I think we should show it to Dustin and Robb." I suggested meekly.

Barry nodded at me, "Of course we will. Maybe they'll get more sense out of it than we do. We should press on now though. How much further does everyone have to go?"

"About forty minutes to an hour tops on the camera system." Joe replied.

Aisha looked down at her tapes, "Same with me." she replied. "I'm on my last Mini-DV."

I sighed and looked at my recorder that I held in my hand, it was the last one. "It says fifty minutes."

Barry smiled, "Okay, we're almost through all of it then." he breathed out in relief.

"Thank god." Aisha mumbled under her breath.

I snickered lightly before continuing the tape. The tape was Dustin and I when we were in the tower before the party. For a while, absolutely nothing showed up but I wanted to pay close attention to the spot where Dustin and I had heard something—a voice, a bang, or whatever it was. I was literally on the edge of my seat until we got to that point.

"_I have three jobs other outside of working with my friends. I work as a cardiac EMT, an Anaesthetist and I also manage an ambulance company, so I'm pretty busy. What was your job? Did you enjoy it_?" Dustin voice rattled off.

It was my voice spoke next, "_We just wanted to sit down and have an actual chat with you. I can't imagine that people often come to see you and to just become your friend. Do you understand what it is that we are trying to do_?" My voice sounded different over the audio recorder and I didn't really like it but it couldn't be helped. I held my breath because I knew that it was just after I had spoken that Dustin and I had heard the voice.

Then it came. What I had been waiting for, "_Yes_…." It was soft, feminine and sounded almost like a hiss.

Dustin's voice was extremely loud compared to the quite whisper before, "_Did you hear that_?" he exclaimed.

"_Yes I did_." I replied quietly.

I paused the tape and tapped Barry and Joe's shoulders as they were sitting on either side of me. I was grinning largely but I couldn't help it.

"Did you find something else?" Barry smirked, eyeing my smile.

I nodded enthusiastically, "I sure did. Dustin and I were in the tower and we were talking when we heard a voice. The audio recorder picked it up."

"Well," Barry said, "Let's have a listen."

Barry, Aisha and Joe all ended up listening to the tape and all agreed that it was a pretty good EVP. It wasn't big, but it was one of the biggest things we had picked up during the case.

The rest of the analysis took about a half hour and then when we were finished, Barry went to get Dustin and Robb but told Aisha, Joe and myself we could go ahead and get some sleep. We had started looking through the evidence at 10am and it was currently about 11pm which meant we had just spent the past eleven hours or so going over the evidence and barely moving except to grab a snack, get a drink or use the restroom.

We tried to protest but Barry wouldn't budge, "There isn't much evidence to show them. Go get some sleep." he had reasoned with us.

Aisha, Joe and I left the conference room together. "Hey Mercedes?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to double check with the hotel staff about your parent's information? You know, just to be sure there weren't any changes made without your knowledge." Aisha suggested.

I thought for a moment, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea if we do that."

"Well, I'm going to head back to my hotel room. I'll see you two in the morning." Joe told Aisha and I.

"Goodnight!" Aisha and I called out quietly as Joe walked around the corner and out of the lobby.

Aisha and I quietly walked to where the hotel front desk was. The other guests would probably be sleeping and we didn't want to disturb them. When we reached the desk, there was an older man who was sitting in a swivel chair looking extremely bored. He looked like he was in his seventies and was small in height but chubby. He was balding on the head and was wearing a pair of thick rimmed round shaped glasses. He seemed nice enough and the hotel staff was multi-lingual so I knew that we wouldn't have a problem with speaking to this man. Or, at least I hoped that we wouldn't, sometimes they had very strong accents and they were hard to understand.

"Hello." I said, waking him up slightly. The man jumped slightly and pushed his pair of large glasses up his nose, "I'm coming to check on a reservation." I told him.

"Name?" he asked in a thick accent.

"Nathan, Francesca or Ayden Culvert, it should be one of those names but I'm not sure which one for sure." I said.

The man walked over to a computer and started looking through files. When he typed, he brought his face close to the screen and pressed two buttons at a time, looking down each time he pushed a button. Finally, he turned around and addressed Aisha and I, "Three king rooms under Mr. Nathan Culvert." he said.

Aisha and I exchanged a quick glance, "Are they bringing someone else?" she asked me.

I shook my head, "As far as I knew it was just my parents and Ayden." I looked back to the man and said, "Are you sure it's _three_ rooms, not two?" I asked.

The man turned back to his computer and pushed a couple more buttons, "Three. Computer says three miss. Is there problem with information?" he asked me in his thick accent.

"I'm not exactly sure. I thought they only booked two rooms but they might be bringing another person. I'll let you know if I find anything out though." I told him.

He nodded, "You two have good night."

"Thank you." Aisha and I told him politely.

We started to leave the lobby when we ran into Barry, Dustin and Robb who were on their way into the conference room. "What are you two up to?" Robb asked teasingly.

Aisha and I exchanged a smirk, "Oh we were just planning on pulling the fire alarm to wreak havoc on the hotel." I said sarcastically.

"I'm sure you were considering it." Robb said. "Now what were you _really_ doing?"

"Double checking my families booking information. Apparently they are booking three rooms instead of the original two and I don't understand that at all."

"Maybe you should call your parents and double check and make sure that information is correct." Barry suggested.

I nodded, "That's what I planned on doing. My mother could have changed something without telling me—she does that a lot." I added.

Aisha agreed with me, "It's a frequent occurrence in the Culvert household that Francesca forgets to tell Ayden, Nathan and Mercedes important things." Barry, Robb and Dustin laughed at this. "But hey, we should go to our rooms and let Barry show you the evidence. Joe already went to his room. We'll see you in the morning." she finished.

"You get some sleep girls." Robb instructed.

I sighed, "I'm not really tired, I think I'm actually going to read for a while. I think all the coffee and coke I've been downing today has got me pretty wired still."

Aisha yawned, "Not me, I'm beat."

I turned to her and grabbed her arm, "Let's get you to bed then, Granny." I teased.

The boys called out their goodnights to us before they entered the conference room and Aisha and I started to make our way to our hotel rooms. Once we reached them, we said goodnight to each other quietly before entering our rooms for the night.

Once inside my room, I decided to get comfortable before sitting down the read. I shed my shirt, shoes, jewelry and jeans and put on a pair of short green and blue plaid boxer shorts, a matching green low-cut lacy camisole and fixed my sleek ponytail into a messy bun. What I was wearing was a bit revealing for my tastes but I didn't think I'd get any visitors so I decided to ignore that little fact. My hotel room was also a little stuffy so what I was wearing felt pretty comfortable.

I settled down on my bed and pulled out one of my books and began to read. I was getting lost in the book as I usually did during a good read when I heard a knock on the door. Figuring it was just Aisha coming to bug me about something, I didn't bother putting on my robe that was laying on one of the chairs near my bed, not that the robe would do much anyways. It was dark gray, short and low-cut and my _mother _had picked it out.

I opened the door and began to ask Aisha what she wanted when I realized that the person at the door _wasn't _Aisha. '_Of all people knocking on my door when I'm barely clothed, it had to be you…didn't it_?' I mentally screamed as my face started to feel like it had literally erupted into flames.

"Uhm—I—s-sorry you s-said you were s-staying up and…" Dustin started stuttering while eyeing me up and down at the same time.

'_This is going to be interesting_…' I told myself as I opened the door a little bit wider and let Dustin in. I quickly looked outside the door and saw no one in the hallway but I quickly closed the door despite that. The entire time I was doing this, Dustin's eyes were wide and staring at me. I was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable. Sure, Dustin was my boyfriend, but that didn't mean I was ready for him to eye me when I was barely wearing clothes while he was still all dressed up in all _his _clothes.

"I was staying up," I told him as I hastily grabbed my robe off the chair and wrapped it around my body. Just as I had predicted, it didn't do much to cover my cleavage or my legs. "I was reading and getting comfortable." I plopped down on the bed and crossed my legs, looking up at Dustin who was standing awkwardly about five feet in front of me.

"Oh," Dustin replied shakily.

We stood, or actually in my case sat, in an awkward silence for the longest time. I looked down at the bedspread as if it was the most interesting thing in the world while Dustin kept his eyes trained on me. Even though I couldn't see if he was actually looking at me, I got the prickling feeling in the back of my neck that I always got when someone was staring at me. Call it a sixth sense.

I was about to open my mouth to say something when Dustin beat me to it. "Look, I'm sorry for barging in. I should have just waited until tomorrow…" he trailed off awkwardly.

I sighed and finally looked up to see his apologetic face, "No, it's okay. It's not a problem, Dustin."

"You sure?" he asked apprehensively.

"Yes I'm sure." I sighed, "Why is this so awkward?" I said.

Dustin finally moved and sat down next to me, "I honestly have no idea, I'm sorry for uhm—s-staring at you. I could tell it was making you uncomfortable."

"A little but it's not a big deal…" I replied softly, staring at the decorative bedspread again.

I sensed Dustin leaning into me and when I looked back up, his face was inches from mine. The smell of _Starburst_ and soap filled my senses as always and I opened my mouth everything just tumbled out, "Are you eating _Starbursts_?" I asked. It was completely random of me but I couldn't stop it from coming out.

Dustin raised an eyebrow and leaned away from me a bit, giving me back some personal space, "I did earlier, you know I have that candy addiction. I usually keep some on me at times which is why Robb always teases me about the candy."

"Funny, I never notice him tease you about the candy. Usually it's your hair." I said with a short laugh. I still felt a little awkward. All I wanted to do was get under my sheets and cover up but I figured that would make things even _more_ awkward.

'_Do normal people have this happen to them? I'm twenty-four years old and my boyfriend is thirty-one and we're both freaking out because I'm wearing shorts and a tank-top. We're pathetic_.' I thought.

I didn't even realize that I had spoken my thoughts out loud until Dustin chuckled, "You really switch topics fast don't you?"

'_I said that out loud again_?' I thought miserably. "I need to get that fixed…" I muttered.

"Are you okay? Maybe you're more tired than you thought." Dustin told me in a soothing voice. I opened my mouth to protest but he put his finger to my lips, "Look, how about I just go and we'll pretend this never happened."

He went to get up but I couldn't let that happen. With more force than I had intended, I grabbed his arm and yanked him back next to me. Only, since I had used more force than I intended, I ended up pulling him on top of me. The force of his body sent me backwards and I landed flat on my back against the bed with Dustin hovering above me. I closed my eyes and mentally started chastened myself.

'_This is going to be awkward_.' I thought.

I opened one eye at a time and found Dustin smirking down at me, "If you wanted me to stay, all you had to do was ask, Babe. You didn't have to yank me down on top of you."

I couldn't stop the grin from coming to my face at his cockiness, "Now there is the sarcastic, confident Dustin I know." I said. "Where did he go? I was stuck with shy, awkward Dustin." I teased.

"I have no idea." Dustin chuckled.

And that was all it took to get back to normal. Dustin brought one of his hands up to my cheek and cupped it before bringing my face to his in a slow kiss before he slowly climbed off me and we both sat up against the headboard of my bed, just talking, which was something that was easy for us. I had said it before but being with Dustin was natural.

'_Except for the incident early tonight that is._' I reminded myself. '_Hopefully that will be a rare occurrence_.'

"So are you excited for your parents and brother coming here tomorrow?" Dustin asked my, running his hand through my hair.

"You can't forget the unknown member." I reminded him.

He chuckled, "Oh yes, how could I forget." he said sarcastically. "Anyways…" Dustin gestured for me to go ahead and answer his question.

I bit my lip, another nervous habit of mine. "I'm excited to see them because I miss them like crazy…"

"But?" I thought it was funny how Dustin knew from the tone of my voice that there was going to be a 'but' implied.

"But, I'm also nervous about how everything is going to go over…" I whispered quietly.

Dustin's smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion, "What do you have to be nervous about?" he asked me.

I looked away from him when I started speaking, "My parents aren't…normal…parents," I said, still speaking softly, "Especially my mother. She's very judgmental and erratic. She's in her forties yet she acts like a teenager instead of a mother. She always has tried to be my friend instead of my mother and while sometimes I enjoy that, it would also be nice for her to be my mother sometimes. And people wonder why I grew up so fast…" I mumbled the last part under my breath and felt Dustin rub my arm soothingly. I turned back to look at him and there was still that little crease between his eyes, showing he was still confused. "Anyways," I continued. "Francesca isn't a big fan of the paranormal. In fact, she doesn't really believe in anything if it doesn't have a price tag."

"So you're worried about her reaction to us and your work?" Dustin asked after I was quiet for a while.

I sighed and leaned my head down, closing my eyes as I lay down against Dustin's warm chest. Just sitting there cuddling with him seemed to help a little bit. The butterflies I was getting in my stomach wasn't from the nerves of my parents. "Well there is that, amongst other things." I told him truthfully.

"Like…?"

"Like how you guys will react to their personalities, most times it's a bit of a turn off for most people. They mean well and never react like this to Ayden or myself but sometimes they can come off snooty unless they deem you worthy or—well, you come from a lot of money."

Dustin shifted slightly underneath me to where he was more laying down than sitting up against the headboard, "What does money have anything to do with it?" he asked me.

As soon as the statement left his mouth, my eyes sprung open and I sat up to look down at him. He was resting against one of the pillows, looking up at me with a cute yet puzzled expression on his face. I could tell that his statement had been a truthful inquiry and then it made me wonder, '_Did he even know_?'

This time I got off the bed completely and started to make my way over to my suitcases which were in a pile in the corner. I opened my smaller case, the one that held most of my shoes and accessories.

"What are you doing, Mercedes?" he asked me. I ignored his question and began rummaging around in the case, looking for a certain pair of heels. When I found them, I held them up for him to see. They were the same heels that I had worn to dinner when we had first arrived at the hotel on Tuesday. Dustin's forehead creased even more, "Babe, why are you showing me shoes?" he asked me dubiously.

"Dustin, around how much do you think this particular pair of heels cost?" I quizzed, walking closer to the bed with the heels so he could get a better look.

Dustin sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Does it even matter?" he asked.

I nodded firmly, "Answer the question. How much do you think they cost?"

He thought for a moment before he said, "Maybe ninety dollars." he estimated.

I looked down at the heels before I looked back up at him, '_I wish_.' I thought.

"Higher." I told him.

"Okay, one hundred twenty-five dollars." he guessed.

I sighed, we were probably going to be here I while if he kept guessing like that. "Nope, go higher."

"Two hundred."

"Higher, Dustin, way higher."

He raised an eyebrow before he said, "Five hundred."

I shook my head, "Still higher."

"Holy shit, Mercedes!" he exclaimed. He ran his hand over his face again before he said, "Seven hundred."

"Higher."

"Damn…uhm nine hundred dollars?"

"You're finally getting warmer, but it's still higher." I told him.

I looked at me like I was crazy, "Why the hell would you spend so much money on a damn pair of heels?" he asked me.

"These particular heels that I am holding in my hand are a pair of _Valentino_ Satin Diamanté Bow Pumps." I explained in a salesman type of voice.

Dustin just raised an eyebrow not understanding what I was getting at. His facial expression screamed, '_What's_ _Valentino_?'

I sighed before I started to explain, "And you've never heard of Valentino before, have you?" he shook his head at my question, "Well, _Valentino_ is a famous designer shoe brand, very beautiful and very expensive."

"I still don't understand why you are showing me an expensive pair of heels. We're they a birthday present or something?" he asked me sincerely.

I mentally smacked my forehead. He obviously wasn't getting what I was trying to tell him without actually saying it out right. I reached back into my suitcase and pulled out four other pairs of shoes and held them up. The first pair was a pair of pink and black leopard print heels, "These are _Jimmy Choo_ sandals that cost about seven hundred and twenty dollars." I reached for the next pair. They were purple striped wooden heels, "And these are Dolphin designed _Alexander McQueen_ heels." The next pair of shoes I picked up was a pair of dark grey suede heeled boots, "These are one of my favorites actually. They are _Christian Louboutin_ Piros boots. They cost about one thousand and three hundred dollars, give or take."

"Mercedes, again, why in the hell would you spend that much on shoes. Do you have _more _in that suitcase?" he asked me incredulously. This time he got off the bed and started to walk over to where I was standing, leaning over my shoe filled suitcase. "Was _this _the suitcase I had to carry for you? God damn Mercedes, no wonder you couldn't lift the damn thing. There is at least thirty pairs of shoes in here!" he exclaimed, randomly grabbing a pair of red high heels.

"Those are _Fendi_ T-Bar Platform heels." I said.

"And how much do _these _cost?" he asked sarcastically before he placed them back in my suitcase. "Is all your stuff this expensive, babe?"

I shook my head, "No of course not." I told him but then when I ran through a mental list in my head, I realized that quite a few of my heels that I brought where expensive. My shirts and sweaters were more normal but I did have some pretty expensive jeans and jewelry packed away. "Well, some of it is but—"

Dustin cut me off, "Why would you bring all this with you? It could get stolen!" he told me.

I rolled my eyes, "I'd actually be _happy _if some of it was stolen."

"Why? So you can go buy more because this stuff is out of season." he commented coldly in an airy voice.

The comment and the frostiness in his voice almost brought tears to my eyes, "No, I'm not that self obsessed, Dustin! I thought you would know me better than that by now."

He crossed his arms over his chest, "Obviously not. Look, I'm sorry. That comment was extremely rude of me but all this stuff is completely ridiculous. Why would you go out and spend money on all this—this junk?" he asked.

"I'm not the one who buys it." I muttered. "That's why I don't care if I loose it because I don't _want _it. Sure, it's nice and yes I do love a lot of the stuff but I can get just as nice stuff at _Charlotte Russe_ or _Wet Seal_ as I can at _Dolce and Gabbana_ or _Gucci_."

"Then why don't you?" he asked me simply.

I sighed, "I do. But my mother doesn't think so. I told you she doesn't believe in anything that doesn't have a price tag. She believes that only expensive things are the best and this is what I grew up around. Those _Valentino_ shoes I first showed you, well my mother saw them when shopping and thought that they'd go absolutely wonderfully with this two thousand dollar dress she had bought me ten minutes previously. Then about fifteen minutes later she went out and bought my a one thousand dollar coin purse from _Coach_. And yes, I just said one thousand dollar coin purse." I told him. "It's been like this my entire life. I can't change who I am. This is why I'm worried, Dustin…"

I felt a couple of tears fall down my cheeks as I spoke before finally I was full out sobbing. I wrapped my arms around my middle protectively as a strangled sob escaped my lips.

After a few minutes I heard a few mumbled cuss words come from Dustin's mouth before his arms wrapped tightly around me as he pulled me against his chest and started stroking my hair in a calming manner. "Hey, don't cry. You don't have to cry. I'm sorry, babe." he whispered softly, guilt dripping in his voice.

When I finally spoke, my words came out blubbery, "People treat me different when t-they find out I have a b-billion dollar name to m-me. They either want t-to be my f-friend just cause I have money for they a-assume that I'm just like those r-rich stuck up bitches w-who think anyone without m-money is unworthy of their t-time." I sobbed out. "A-and you r-reaction just proved i-it."

I felt Dustin's breath run down my neck and I shivered slightly from the sensation as he buried his face in my neck, hugging me even tighter. "I'm so sorry, Mercedes. I didn't mean any of those things I said. I was just, well surprised."

When my tears finally stopped, I finally pulled myself out of Dustin's arms but kept my own arms around my middle, holding myself together. "If you think that this is bad, just wait until mommy dearest comes walking into the hotel with a sequined low cut dress, impossibly high high-heels and a tiny Chihuahua dog on a leash named Cookie."

Dustin snorted at the end of my sentence, "Cookie? Is your mother copying Paris Hilton?" he asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to joke around and sniffled, "Paris's Chihuahua is named Tinkerbell. It's completely different."

"You don't really think she'd bring the Chihuahua with her, do you?" he asked.

I shrugged, "She might. Francesca loves Cookie. She got her after Ayden moved out of the house. It's her new baby. I think she missed having people in the house besides my father and the house staff. Even though Cookie isn't an actual person she does keep my mother company."

"You mother seems like an interesting woman…" Dustin mumbled.

"You can say that. I just, I'm afraid of how she'll react to you guys. I don't want you thinking that I'm some rich spoiled bitch." I said quietly.

Dustin groaned, "I don't think you're a rich spoiled bitch, Baby. I really don't. I was just surprised and I wasn't thinking. I know you aren't like that. You don't act like that at all. But now I understand why you have such a diverse wardrobe." he commented.

I gestured to my revealing robe, "Can you believe Francesca actually bought me this. She told me that I wasn't ever going to get a man if I didn't show off the goods a little."

Dustin's eyes widened, "Your _mother _told you that?" he asked, his jaw dropped open.

"I told you, she acts more like a friend than a mother. She'd be ecstatic if she knew you and I were together. But it's probably a good thing is she _doesn't _know. I'd never hear the end of it otherwise." I said with a short laugh. "She's the same way with Aisha. Sometimes I think she loves Aisha more than she likes me because Aisha is more excepting of fashion than I am. I would rather wear sweatpants and read all day but I can't with my job. Most of my heels I have to wear for my job. I mean, I know it's just a photography agency but we have to look professional and all that jazz."

Dustin finally grabbed my hands in his and began to pull me back to the big king sized bed, we both sat down side by side with our knees touching. We sat in silence for a long time before Dustin finally broke the silence, "Do you think she'll like me though?" he asked worriedly. "Or your father or even Ayden, will they like me?"

"Ayden will love you." I reassured him. "Ayden is more like me. But he is even more against to the whole designer thing than I am. Francesca has given up buying stuff for him because the last time she went shopping for him, he actually burnt all of the stuff she bought him and all his designer clothes. She gave up after that."

"And your father?" Dustin asked warily.

"Dad will love you too." I said with a grin. "He's nice and funny, much more open to people than my mother is. He also loves the paranormal. Like I said before, he fueled my interest as a child so I think that all you have to do with impress him with your wit and good manners and you'll be set with him."

"What about Francesca, you never answered that one." Dustin reminded me.

I sighed and ran a hand through my messy ponytail, "I think she'll like you eventually. She'll be a little turned off because you're a paranormal investigator but I know for a fact she'll think your good looking so that's a plus for you."

"Thank god for my sex appeal. It'll get me brownie points with my girlfriend's mother." Dustin interrupted sarcastically.

I smacked his arm, "That wasn't supposed to be funny or taken like that, smart ass."

Dustin chuckled before he leaned over and kissed the corner of my lips, "I know. I'm sorry."

I reached my hand up and pulled him closer so he could kiss me properly. Our lips glided over each other a few times before I moved my hands from his neck to his hair. I loved running my hands through his hair. You would think that it would be hard and all goopy from the gel but it was soft and springy.

When we pulled away I looked over at the clock which read 12:57am. I pressed one more kiss upon Dustin's lips before I mumbled, "I think you should go now, you have a reveal to do in the morning and I need some sleep. I'm tired. We have a huge day ahead of us tomorrow."

Dustin nodded and stood up. I got up off the bed as well and followed him towards the door, "Goodnight baby. Sweet dreams." He whispered as he gave me a soft kiss on the forehead as I leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Night," I replied quietly.

After he left my room I leaned up against the door and put my head in my hands. The night had definitely not gone as I had planned but then again, life never went as it was planned. I straightened back up and made my way over to my bed. I took of my robe and threw it on the floor before crawling under the covers and shutting off the light. I lay awake staring at the white ceiling for the longest time before sleep finally seemed to over take me and I fell into a dark oblivion.


	14. SC: Part 7 of 11

**Authors Note:**_ So I really wanted to get this out before November 21st in honor of not only the 'New Moon' premiere (which has nothing to do with GHI) but also my birthday :) And even though it's my birthday, I've had a really awesome day and I thought I'd get this out to you. And those of you who have seen or going to see New Moon, it's well worth your time and money, at least I thought so anyways. I enjoyed it very much :) So anyways, this chapter is the meet-the-family chapter and I hope you enjoy Mercedes's family because I loved writing them. It's long and maybe a bit boring/confusing in some places because there is some French and Italian thrown in here. Enjoy anyways!! And please leave some reviews for the birthday girl!!_

_- RIP._

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**PLAYLIST:**

_The Coldest Heart_ by: The Classic Crime

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**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 7 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

It was about 6 o'clock in the evening the next day and we were currently standing the middle of a busy airport terminal with people bustling around us as we stood and waited for the passengers to be released from the airplane. Robb and Dustin were at the reveal for Cesky Krumlov so Barry and Joe decided to accompany Aisha and I to the airport where we were picking up my parents. Apparently my mother had tried to get a driver to pick them up but Aisha and I had insisted that we would come get them ourselves. Joe and Barry didn't have a problem with this and had driven the remaining two GHI vans up to the airport with us. We had three vans total: two for us investigators and one for all the cameramen so on the way up, Barry and Aisha and driven one van while Joe and I rode in the second van.

"Mercedes!" A loud and familiar voice screeched through out the airport terminal followed by the sound of heels tapping against a linoleum floor.

Aisha snorted from her position beside me, "I think we just found your mother."

My head snapped up and focused on the _four_ people walking towards me. My father wearing a nice suit coat and dark jeans with his hair combed back nicely, Ayden with his usual dark jeans and band t-shirt with his emo styled hair cut falling in front of his dark eyes, my mother wearing a tight dress and high heels as I had predicted earlier and much to my surprise, my grandmother—Lucinda—wearing a pretty sundress, hat and sandals. They all had luggage in their hands but my father looks almost weighed down with three suitcases and two travel bags on him. I knew for a fact that probably none of that was even his stuff.

"That's your mother?" Barry asked in surprise.

I looked back to see him staring at her with wide eyes. I knew the way that he was staring wasn't a look of lust, it was mostly surprise. I sighed, "Yes, that would be my mother." I told him.

"She must really like shiny objects." Joe commented, referring to her diamond encrusted heels, purse and sunglasses.

"Yeah, that's an understatement." I flinched slightly, "The sad part is, all of that is real. None of it's fake."

Mom continued walking the rest of the distance between us before she wrapped me up in a tight hug, "_Bonjour_ _mon chéri_." she said in typical greeting. She had always called me '_mon chéri_' as a child which meant 'my dearie' in French. My mother had grown up around both Italian and French and often mix and matched phrases. I didn't know a ton of French or Italian, but I knew some of basics as well as terms for family and endearment. She then pulled away and assessed my outfit, "Good lord, Mercedes! Thank god I brought a whole suitcase filled with the newest fashion trends. You're look needs a bit of an update."

I frowned and looked down at my sky blue top, comfortable jeans and a pair of black and blue _Stella_ flats. I didn't see anything wrong with my outfit but that was my mother for you, always a pessimist.

"Mother!" I exclaimed, slightly angry from her words, "There is nothing wrong with my outfit. It's absolutely fine."

My mother's lips puckered slightly in distaste and shifted her gaze from me to Aisha. She assessed Aisha's outfit which consisted of a nice black top with ripped dark jeans and boots. She smiled, "Why can't you dress nicely like Aisha,Mercedes?" she asked me. She then moved on to Aisha, wrapping her up in a hug, "I also brought a suitcase of stuff I thought you'd like as well."

Aisha and I exchanged a look, rolling our eyes. We were used to it. The next person to hug me was my father, Nathan. A genuine smile crossed my features as I hugged him, "Hi Daddy." I greeted. I'll admit it. I was a bit of a daddy's girl.

"Hey baby!" he greeted. Just like my mother, my father had a term of endearment that he had always called me—except his was on English: _Baby_. It wasn't the same as when Dustin said it but I still liked it. My father had called my Baby since I was just a little girl. It was something that probably wouldn't change anytime soon. "I tried to talk your mother out of bringing new clothes for you and Aisha," he whispered in my ear. "But she wouldn't budge."

"At least I know someone's on my side." I said. My father then left to stand by my mother, taking her hand in his as she talked with Aisha, catching up on things.

Ayden was next, "Hey big sis!" he said as he hugged me tightly. "So this is the Czech Republic, huh?" He looked around the airport as he said this.

I pulled away and giggled, "No Ayden, this is an airport. The Czech Republic is outside."

He brought his hand up and ruffled my hair, "Still as sarcastic as ever, nice to see you haven't changed much since you've been gone."

I rolled my eyes, "It's been a month Ayden, I don't change that quickly."

Ayden then left to go give Aisha a hug and my grandmother stepped up, "Well this is a surprise, Lu." I said, using the name she usually liked to be referred to as.

"When I heard Nathan and Francesca were coming to visit you, I couldn't let them go without me. I know how hard headed Francesca can be." She then gave me a kiss on each cheek before she put her frail hands on my shoulders and looked at me, "_Vous êtes très belles_!" she exclaimed in perfect French.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

Despite the fact my both my mother and grandmother had lived in America for over thirty years, they still mixed a lot of French terms and phrases with the English language. It was mostly French, although occasionally an Italian word would be uttered from one of their mouths out of old habits.

"Sorry, _trésor_." Just like my mother and father, Lucinda had a nickname for me as well: _trésor, _which meant '_treasure'_ in French. "What I meant to say was that you look very beautiful."

I wrapped her in a hug, "Thank you. I'm really glad you came."

My grandmother and I joined the rest of the group, who were now all standing around Aisha. Barry and Joe stood back a bit, obviously not wanting to interrupt or anything. I was surprised that my mother hadn't even noticed them. But, just as the thought crossed my mind, I heard my mother say, "Oh, you must be the drivers right? Do you have drinks in the limo? I'm assuming Mercedes rented a limo for us."

"Francesca!" I heard my father say just as my grandmother hissed lightly, "_Fermez la bouche_!"

I felt my jaw drop at my mother's discourtesy. I loved my mother, but it was times like this that made me really dislike her manners and the way she went about things. "Mother," I ground out through my clenched teeth. "This is Barry and Joe. They are my cast mates. They _aren't_ drivers."

"Oh," she said, her lips puckering out once more. She held out her hand to both Joe and Barry and shook theirs. "_Excusez-moi_. I apologize for my rudeness. It's nice to meet you both."

"Likewise," Barry said politely, but I could see the look of annoyance in his eyes.

Joe just smiled and said, "It's nice to finally meet Mercedes's family. She's talked about you a lot."

My mother looked at me in surprise, "She has?" she asked Joe incredulously.

I rolled my eyes as Joe nodded, "Of course." He told her.

"Well that's a surprise." My mother said with a hint of distain in her voice.

Aisha clapped her hands together and changed the subject, much to my relief. "So, should we go ahead back to the hotel now? I think Dustin and Robb should be back soon." she commented, looking down at her phone's clock.

"Who are Robb and Dustin?" My father asked curiously.

"They are the other two investigators on our team. They always go to the client to show them the evidence that we capture after we're finished analyzing it so that's why they aren't with us now." I explained.

My father nodded but didn't say anything further.

"So out to the vans?" Aisha asked, gesturing with her hands and moving backwards slightly.

"Vans?" My mother squeaked.

"It's not a problem, that sounds like a good plan." My father interrupted happily as he retook my mother's hand in his and started to follow Aisha as she walked.

"Do you need any help carrying your bags?" Barry asked my father out of courtesy.

Much to my surprise my father shook his head, "No thanks, I've got it. Besides, it's mostly Francesca's stuff anyways. It's not a big deal."

We walked out to the vans and packed all of my family's things inside before we all piled into the vans. It was my Nathan and Francesca, myself and Joe in one van while Aisha, Barry, my grandmother and Ayden rode in the other van.

On the drive to the hotel, my mother prattled to me about the clothes that she had brought for Aisha and me to wear during our time in Europe. I groaned quietly and saw Joe give me a sympathetic smile as I leaned my head against the window when she finally stopped talking. I suddenly was starting to rethink inviting my family to the Czech Republic.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and when I pulled it out, I smiled when I saw it was a text from Dustin:

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**From: Dustin.**

_**Robb and I just got back. We'll be waiting in the lobby for you guys**_**.**

**- Dustin.**

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I sighed happily and typed back my reply:

**To: Dustin.**

_**Be prepared to deal with Francesca when we arrive. She's already insulted Barry and Joe once**_**.**

**- M.**

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Just seconds later, I got a reply:

**From: Dustin.**

_**What'd she say**_**?**

**- Dustin.**

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I sighed and texted him the whole ordeal at the airport with my mother thinking that Barry and Joe were the drivers instead of part of the team. Dustin was slightly surprised but didn't say anything negative. I was suddenly very glad that I had been given the chance to warn him the night before.

We reached the hotel shortly after and when we got out of the vans my mother started cooing about how charming the hotel looked. '_Well, at least she likes it so far. I can only imagine what would happen if she didn't find it up to her standards_.' I thought sadly.

Barry and Joe helped remove the luggage from the back of the vans and then we all entered the lobby. My father went to go check them all in while the rest of us made our way to where I saw Dustin and Robb sitting. I smiled warily at my boyfriend as they both stood up and held out their hands to my mother, grandmother and Ayden. Robb looked calm and cool wearing one of the GHI shirts and a pair of faded jeans. Dustin, on the other hand, resembled a nervous wreck despite his well put together appearance.

'_And I really mean well put together_…' I added with my thoughts and I eyed Dustin up and down slightly.

For some reason, he looked really good. His hair was gelled to perfection, the spikes sticking up perfectly and the sides slicked back. He was wearing slightly distressed jeans, a GHI shirt and a black jacket over it. For some reason, he just looked really, really attractive right at that moment and I wasn't sure why.

"Hello, you must be Mercedes's mother. I'm Robb Demarest, the lead investigator of GHI." Robb greeted with a smile as he shook my mother's hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Francesca said with a large smile.

I noticed Dustin start to fidget slightly as my mother shifted her critical eyes on Dustin's form. He held out his hand, "I'm Dustin." he mumbled timidly.

"You look so young." My mother commented. "I thought you had to be over twenty-one to join this team. By the way, the spiky hair is a bit preteen-ish. Don't you think?"

I mentally smacked my forehead with my hand as Robb started cracking up at her comment and Dustin's face turned bright red. I mouthed '_sorry'_ to Dustin as Robb started to speak. I knew that what was about to come out of his mouth probably wasn't good. "You know, I've tried to tell him that before but he just doesn't listen."

"I'm actually thirty-one, ma'am." Dustin told my mother, ignoring Robb's jab.

My mother looked surprise and opened her mouth to comment when by the Grace of God, Ayden interrupted her, "Hi, I'm Ayden, Mercedes's brother." he greeted, shaking both Robb and Dustin's hands respectfully. He then grinned at Dustin, "Don't worry about my mother man, she disses my hair all the time but I just ignore it."

I heard my mother huff slightly at Ayden's comment before she walked over to where my father was checking into the hotel. Dustin managed a small smile at Ayden as he brought his hand up to his hair, fixing it slightly.

Robb turned to my grandmother, "Ah, so you must be our mystery member. Mercedes wasn't to sure on who the fourth member of this little visit was going to be."

My grandmother laughed, "_Bonjour_! I'm Francesca's mother, Lucinda Rossi but you can call me Lu. It's a pleasure to meet you all and see who my granddaughter has been working with over the past month or so."

"Well, we're an interesting group of individuals. You can say that much about us." Robb told her.

Lucinda shook his hand once before she moved on to Dustin, "Don't worry about what Francesca says. I'm sorry that I didn't teach her more manners. _Contente de vous rencontrer!" _she must have realized her mistake because she corrected herself immediately. "Oh, sorry. It's been thirty some years and the French still slips out. What I meant to say was that it's nice to meet you."

Dustin held out his hand and shook it lightly, "It's fine but, I didn't take any offense to what your daughter said."

Ayden and I giggled as Lucinda put her hand on Dustin's shoulder and pat it softly, "Sure you didn't, honey."

It was around that time that my parents returned and gave Ayden and Lucinda their room keys. It was decided that everyone would just go off and do their own thing for the night because my family seemed to be suffering from a bit of jet lag and had already ate. They were going to go off to their rooms and get some rest and get unpacked while the rest of us were going to go down to the restaurant and get something to eat before we headed up for the night as well.

Dinner passed by as it usually did except everyone was a little worn out after dealing with my family. Dustin was still a little upset about my mother's comment (even though he denied it every time someone pointed it out), Joe was still shocked about how different my mother and I was, and I think Barry was still snubbed about the airport incident. Aisha, Robb and I seemed to be the only ones really carrying on a conversation at dinner. We talked about our follow up case in Ireland at the haunted manor house that Robb and I had picked out and decided that we wouldn't start looking at our next cases until we arrived in Ireland. The last three days that we were staying in the Czech Republic were going to be used to explore the city and for Aisha and I to be with my family.

After dinner we retreated to our rooms alone. I had just got done taking a shower and had changed into my pajamas when I got a knock on my hotel room door. I looked at the clock which read 10:47pm and figured it was Dustin as he usually showed up around that particular time but when I opened the door, I saw Ayden standing there with his hands in his pockets and his hair falling over his eyes.

"Hey Sis, would you like some company?" he asked me.

"Sure," I said as I smiled genuinely at him and opened my door wider to let him inside of my hotel room. He was dressed comfortably as well, wearing a simple cotton black t-shirt and long men's black and grey striped pajama pants.

Ayden looked around my room, "Wow, your room's pretty nice. You even have a full length mirror." he commented, fixing his hair in it.

Instantly I got a flashback of just a few days before when Dustin had seen my full length mirror. The scene played itself back out right before my eyes and brought a million dollar smile to my face.

_Dustin looked at the mirror and gasped, "You have a full length mirror!?" he exclaimed incredulously._

_I raised an eyebrow, "Uhm, yeah I do. I guess."_

"_My room doesn't have one of these!" he said. I giggled and shook my head as Dustin stood in front of the mirror and started flexing his muscles and messing with his hair. "Dude, this reminds me of _Astor Mansion_. They had one of these there and it was freaking awesome." he twisted his body to the side and rubbed his jaw._

_This time I rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm, "You look fine, Dustin. Stop oogling yourself in the mirror. You look pretty." I teased._

When I came out of my memory induced trance I noticed Ayden staring at me strangely, "What are you smiling about?"

I giggled and tucked a loose hair behind my ear, "Oh I was just thinking about when Du—I mean, _Aisha_—saw my mirror for the first time. Apparently h—_she_—doesn't have one in her room." I lied.

Ayden raised an eyebrow, "Why wouldn't Aisha have one in her room?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea." I replied as I took a seat on the edge of my bed. "We still haven't figured that out. Do you have one in your room?" I asked.

He shook his head, "I don't think so but then again I didn't really check out the room. I slept for a few hours before I woke up and decided to come bug you."

I sighed, "Oh, how kind of you."

Ayden came and sat down next to me on the bed and sprawled out on the bed, "Doesn't this remind you of when we were little kids and we'd sneak into Mom and Dad's room because their bed was ginormous and we'd sprawl out all over it and jump around."

I thought back to the particular memory that Ayden was referring to and smiled. Even when we were younger, Ayden and I had always been close. We always went on little tirades around the mansion. Hide-and-Seek with the cleaning staff, our nanny and butler (_yes, we had all those_) was always our favorite, especially when we were _really_, _really_ young.

"I remember, it was mom's king sized feather bed that she just _had _to have so dad bought it for her. We thought it was the most amazing thing in the world when we were like, what, four and nine years old?" I said, sprawling out on the bed next to him.

"I think that's right, maybe I was five and you were ten but it was close to that age." Ayden replied, turning on his side to look at me.

I decided to change the subject, "So how are things at home?" I asked.

Ayden got the far away look in his eyes as he always did when he was deep in thought, "Things are good I guess. We've done about five or six gigs since you've been gone, Chloe's been great at recording the shows, she's also helped with bookings and stuff since you haven't been around to do it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Ah, so she's been hanging around you more?"

Ayden sighed, "Yes, she's been around more but it's probably just because she's Brice's twin sister that she even hangs around us." he said dejectedly, turning his head away to hide his face.

I had always known that Ayden carried true feelings for Chloe but thought that it was against the '_man-code-of-honor_' to date his best friend's sister so he hadn't even utter a word of his feelings for her to her. I personally thought that the '_man-code-of-honor_' was a piece of trash but apparently Ayden didn't think so because he had stuck by that rule for nearly three and a half years. I had always tried to pay attention whenever Chloe was around to see if I picked up any vibes of attraction between the two. Chloe seemed to take a little interest in Ayden was seemed to be hesitant as well. But, I wasn't a relationship expert so I couldn't be positive on that fact.

"I still say that you need to tell her how you feel Ayden. Trust me, bottling all your feelings up is the _last _thing you want to do." I warned him. "Besides, she could always like you too. You don't want to go through life thinking about all the '_what if's_'."

Ayden groaned and ran his hands over his face as he sat up and sat Indian style in front of me. Sometimes I swore that he had ADD because he couldn't stay in one place for very long. "I can't, she's Brice's sister. He'd be pissed if he found out."

I shifted my eyes to his and stared, "And how do you know this?" This was an argument we had had many times and the results were always the same.

"Because he doesn't like guys dating his sister, he's protective over her!" Ayden exclaimed.

"But you're different, you're his best friend. Shouldn't that count for anything?" I asked.

He shook his head, "That makes it worst. Dudes don't date other dudes' sisters."

I felt like my head was spinning from all the teen language. I was five years older than Ayden and had picked up on teen slang while I hadn't. "Ayden, that made absolutely no sense. Speak proper English please." I laughed.

"It's not funny, Mercedes! It's a very serious matter!" he exclaimed.

I took one look at his serious face before I burst into a round of giggles. I grabbed one of the pillows that was on the bed and put it over my face to stifle my laughter. "Your face!" I exclaimed.

When I finally calmed down, I saw that Ayden was glaring pointedly at me, "I'm glad that you find my misery entertaining."

I sobered by quickly and sat up, "I'm sorry. It's not like 'I find your misery entertaining', as you so kindly put it. It's just the way you speak—I'd forgotten how ridiculous it sounds." I explained as one stray giggle escaped my lips. "I'm not sure whether hanging out with you makes me feel old or very mature…" I sighed.

He wrinkled his nose slightly, "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

I shrugged, "It can be taken either way I think."

We fell into an easy silence after that for a long time. Finally, Ayden broke it by making some random comment and we fell into casual conversation again. I had forgotten how easy it was to just hang out with my brother. We had always had to stick together when we were younger, with our parents always and work and all. Our relationship as brother and sister was very strong, and that I was something that I was very grateful for.

Ayden didn't end up leaving my hotel room until nearly one o'clock in the morning. I had been surprised that Dustin hadn't texted me or showed up randomly at my room but at the same time, I was pretty thankful that he hadn't. That would have been something a little difficult to explain to Ayden.

I fell asleep shortly after Ayden left my room and didn't wake up until nearly noon the next morning. I knew I had a very eventful day ahead of me which included a family dinner with my parents, brother, grandmother and Aisha of course. I was looking forward to it but at the same time, I was dreading it. My mother and I had always had a strained relationship. We cared about each other, yet at the same time, we were constantly bickering because our personalities clashed—big time.

Getting ready for the day, I decided to try and appease my mother by dressing up a little nicer than I would if she wasn't around—I even included heels. My outfit consisted of a purple and blue tie-dye washed halter top shirt, a nice pair of jeans, and a cute pair of violet colored pumps. I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from Aisha letting me know that the others had all grabbed lunch separately and that they were going to go out sight seeing again. I also had a text from Dustin telling me to text him when I was ready to go out, if I wanted to, so he could come get me. I replied to both of their texts, letting Aisha know that I was okay with that idea and telling Dustin that I was ready to go out at the present moment if he was. My phone started buzzing and I saw that Dustin had called me instead of texting me back.

"Hey," I said as I answered. I had decided to do one last once over myself and headed into the bathroom with my phone.

"_Hey baby_," Dustin's voice came through the receiver. I couldn't help but smile at the nickname once again, "_So are you ready_?"

"Yeah, what did you have in mind doing for the day?" I asked him. "Aisha said that she and the others all went out sight seeing again." I told him.

"_I know, Robb told me before they left. I slept in this morning and I haven't eaten yet so I thought we could grab some lunch or something together_." He suggested.

I grinned and cradled the phone between my head and my shoulder as I ran a brush through my hair, "Sure, I'm starving." I said just as my stomach grumbled loudly. I looked down at it, slightly embarrassed but thankful that no one was around to hear it.

"_Do you know what your family is up to today_?" he questioned me. I heard shuffling in the background and figured he was getting ready as well.

I sighed and thought, "I think Mom and Dad planned on walking around the city by themselves this afternoon. Mom wanted to check out some of the shops while Dad wanted to see the sights. I have no idea what Lucinda and Ayden are doing though." I told him truthfully.

"_You can see if they want to join us for lunch, if you'd like_." Dustin offered kindly.

I grinned. It was the perfect opportunity for Dustin to get to know my brother and grandmother more. "That'd be perfect, Dustin!" I exclaimed, squealing out of happiness. "It'd be the perfect time for Lu and Ayden to get to know you more. I mean, their approval in very important to me." I said seriously.

Dustin let out a large gust of air, "_So today is like a test_?" he asked curiously.

"Well, not really. I just want them to get to know you, to like you. Like I said, their approval over you means a lot to me. They won't know that we're together, but I want them to like you as a general person." I explained to him.

"_I see. But, you're still throwing me to the big dogs today, Mercedes_." Dustin teased lightheartedly.

"Am not! It's not like I'm making you have lunch with my mother today or anything. It's not that big of a deal. Just be yourself and you'll have no problem getting along with them." I reassured him. It was the truth because I knew that he would have no problem getting Ayden and Lucinda to like him. They already _did _seem to like him and one day, I hoped to have their approval over mine and Dustin's relationship.

"_Fine, well do you want to go to their rooms and see what they are up to_?" Dustin asked me.

I thought for a moment, tapping my finger against my chin. "Yeah, that'd probably be best. I'll come over to your room after I go to theirs. Sound good?"

"Yeah, I'll see you soon." he said in parting.

"Bye," I told him before I ended the call and left my room.

* * *

As it turned out, Ayden and Lucinda were happy to join Dustin and I for lunch and before we knew it, the four of us set out to find a small restaurant to eat lunch. We had decided to skip eating at the hotel restaurant and find someplace else to eat. Krumlov had plenty of restaurants to choose from and we ended up picking a small one called _Deli 99. _It was a tiny little diner that served coffee, fresh baked bread, delicious sandwiches combo, bagels and pastries. The four of us sat down at a small round table and ordered our food. Lucinda and I sat on one side while Ayden and Dustin took their seats on the other side.

While we ate, we carried on a light conversation but it wasn't until we were all finished with our food and were just sitting around that Dustin addressed Lucinda, "So, are you enjoying the nice weather here, Mrs. Rossi?" Dustin asked curiously.

"I told you yesterday, call me Lu please," Grandma requested.

Dustin nodded in agreement and gestured for her to answer his question.

"_Un bel endroit_! It's very beautiful. It's nice because it's warmer and sunnier here than it was back in Whitefield when we left." Grandma sighed sadly. "I love the sun because when it's sunny, I can go for walks out in my garden. I rather enjoy working in my garden you know. I have quite the assortment of flowers there."

Ayden and I exchanged a small pointed glance as my grandmother began to tell Dustin all about the large flower garden that she had planted in her backyard. Both Ayden and I knew how important it was to her. Anytime it was warm and sunny, Lucinda would be out working in her garden. I had to smile at Dustin's attempt to converse with my grandmother because after she finished telling Dustin about her garden, she started to ask him all sorts of questions. Much to my surprise, he answered them with ease.

"So Dustin, what do you enjoy doing with your spare time? I hardly think that a young man such as yourself would enjoy walks in a flower garden." Grandma said humorously.

She was wrong though, at least to an extent. Dustin and I had enjoyed many walks through the flower garden back at the Wicklow Hotel that we stayed at. As I thought about it, I knew Lucinda would have really enjoyed that garden there as well.

Dustin laughed, "I like to take walks, but I usually don't take them through flower gardens. I often walk around the park that we have in Providence, Rhode Island—where I live." he told her. "I enjoy doing my jobs. I have three that I do when I'm not filming for GHI. I work as a cardiac EMT, an Anaesthetist and I also manage an ambulance company. I also work on computers and various technological devices in the little spare time I have as well."

I giggled in response, "I guess that you can say Dustin's a techie like Ayden." I teased.

Lucinda grinned, "Really now?" she asked, looking at Dustin appreciatively.

"Yeah," Dustin replied.

Ayden ignored them and scowled at me, "I'm not a techie, Mercedes!"

"Yes you are. Ayden, you have about four or five computers just in your _room_ that you use for various reasons." I pointed out. "And that isn't even counting the other ones you have set up around the house and the security system that you had tried to create." I added.

Ayden was a wiz with a computer, even when he was younger. He had created a new and more efficient security system for our family's mansion a few years back. It had been pretty effective for the house but Ayden had eventually taken it down earlier this year when he had moved to his own house. He now had it set up in his apartment.

"That's different. That's for security measures only." Ayden retorted.

I smirked, "Yeah, a whole security system that you created yourself." I looked at Dustin who was staring at Ayden in awe. "It's pretty impressive actually." I told Dustin truthfully.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. I haven't even done that before." Dustin said to Ayden.

Ayden shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal, "It's nothing really. I just have security cameras set up inside and outside of my house that are linked to one of the computers in my room. If one of the alarms goes off, I will look over the tapes and mess with the cameras and stuff. It's kind of what you guys do when you review evidence on your ghost hunting cases. Yeah, I have a few computers around my house but for the most of it is just for working with music." Ayden replied.

Dustin nodded, "Like recording studio equipment?" he asked.

"That's _exactly_ it." he grinned. He then turned to me and scowled, "See Mercedes, at least someone understands what all my equipment is for."

I rolled my eyes and didn't reply.

Lucinda smiled at Dustin, "What all kinds of equipment do you work on, dear?" she asked kindly.

"Well, just about anything. All of us on the team have to have at least some kind of knowledge on the equipment that is used during investigations but Barry and I probably have the most background with it. Before I started my other jobs, I did a lot of computer repair for high school and college students. Then when I joined TAPS about four or five years ago, I was their tech specialist. But now, I just usually help Barry with the equipment we use on the investigations and figure out more effective ways to use it." Dustin explained.

Grandma nodded attentively and patted my hand which was rested on my lap under the table. I turned to look up at her and she winked at me. I gave her a questioning glance but she didn't comment further.

"That's pretty cool, Dude." Ayden said, making me forget about the wink Lucinda had given me. "I do a lot of that myself."

"I agree. That sounds very _intéressant_." Lucinda told Dustin, "I like technology, but it's become way too _avancée_ for my old timer brain. It confuses me more than it helps me," she scowled slightly.

Ayden, Dustin and I all chuckled at Lucinda's statement. She always seemed to say the funniest things. My father had always told me that I got my quick wit from Lucinda. I smiled at the thought because that was something that I had always been proud of. Lucinda ended up changing the subject and the next question that Lucinda would ask Dustin would cause both Dustin and I to blush.

"Dustin, are you married or seeing anyone?" Lucinda asked genuinely. I knew she wasn't trying to pry into Dustin's personal life but it still bothered me slightly. I turned my eyes away from Dustin. I knew we would have to lie to both Lucinda and Ayden. Again, it wasn't a trust issue that was the problem, it was the fact that we just couldn't tell anyone that we were dating that came into play once again.

"N-no," Dustin stuttered in a small voice.

I sneakily looked up under my eyelashes at Dustin and sighed heavily. He looked just as guilty for lying right out as I did. It was hard, especially lying to someone as genuine at my own Grandmother. We stared at each other for a while before there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. I turned my eyes to Ayden who was looking at my suspiciously. He didn't say anything further though and for that I was extremely thankful.

"Really?" Lucinda asked in surprise, ignoring the interaction between myself and Ayden, "A handsome young man like you should be fighting off girls with a stick by now. I think you told me yesterday but it seems that I've forgotten, how old are you again?"

"I'm thirty-one." Dustin told her.

"Hmm, I thought you were a little younger than that. You look so young! Maybe it's all the spiky hair," she exclaimed, pointing at Dustin's hair.

We all laughed loudly at my grandmother's statement about Dustin's hair.

"Dustin, I don't think you're ever going to live that down." I told him sincerely.

It seemed as if someone was always teasing Dustin about his hair. It wasn't just Robb teasing him because every chance I got, I teased him as well. I always told him that he used more hair products on his hair than I did on mine, which was pretty sad considering I was a girl and he was a guy.

My grandmother decided to change the subject once more, "Mercedes, how old are you now again?" Grandma questioned me. "I know the whole reason that we came out here was to celebrate your birthday but I do believe that your age had escaped me!"

Ayden and I both had to stifle our laughter as I tried to answer my grandmother seriously, "I just turned twenty-four, Lu."

Dustin, Ayden and I all exchanged looks as Lucinda said, "Ah, what a tender age. I do believe that was the age I was around when you met your _nonno_, Gregorio Francesco Rossi." she sighed, her eyes got the dazed look in them that they always did whenever she was deep in thought or discussing our grandfather, or _nonno_, as she had called him which meant grandfather in Italian.

"Sounds Italian," Dustin observed. "I'm Ita—"

"You're Italian as well," Lucinda interrupted him before he was finished.

Dustin's jaw dropped, "How did you know?"

"I noticed it when I first met you. It's your facial structure that gave it away." I gaped at my grandmother for her words. I hadn't even noticed that Dustin did have very distinguishing Italian features. As I looked at him from under my eyelashes, it became very clear that he was indeed Italian.

"She's right, now that I think about it, you do look like you have a lot of Italian in you." I told him.

Dustin smiled at me and changed the subject, "So you're grandfather was Italian then, right? His name sounded Italian."

The smile that Lucinda gave Dustin was ear-to-ear, "That's because it is. Gregorio had lived in Italy all of his life but had come to Paris in 1949. I met him when he decided to tour Europe. He was staying in Paris for a few days when we bumped into each other. It was love at first sight." she explained happily. "It was such a long time, but it seems just like yesterday to me."

She went on to tell Dustin how she had first met my grandfather in Paris, France. It was a sweet story and I loved it when my grandmother would tell the tale to Ayden and I. Lucinda was such a fantastic story teller because she literally painted pictures with her words. Whenever she told me stories of her childhood and adolescent years, I felt as if I was actually right there experiencing exactly what she had. Right now, I felt as if I was in Paris in the year 1949 meeting Gregorio just as she had, instead of just listening to a story that someone was telling me. Dustin and I both listened intently as my grandmother told stories about her childhood and her time with my grandfather. I knew she missed him greatly, but my Grandmother had once told me she had a secret that made everything easier. When I had asked her what the secret was, she told me I wasn't ready to know yet and that she would tell me in due time.

After that, time passed quickly and it was only when my phone started vibrating in my pocket that I became aware that we had been sitting in the little deli for nearly four hours. The call I was receiving was from Aisha. I excused myself from the table and walked outside to take the call because I didn't want to seem rude to the other customers.

"Hello?" I asked as I answered the phone.

Aisha sounded worried when she spoke, "_Where are you guys? We haven't heard from you in hours_."

I felt kind of bad that we hadn't let Aisha and the others know that we were going out. We hadn't planned on staying long but once Lucinda started telling stories, times always seemed to get away without anyone noticing it. "Sorry Aish," I apologized, "Since you guys all ate without Dustin and I we went to this Deli with Ayden and Lucinda. We lost track of time." I explained.

Aisha giggled, sounding much calmer than she had previously, "_Was Lu telling stories again_?" she asked.

I gasped in fake surprise, "However did you know!?" I asked sarcastically.

"_Mercedes, I've known both you and Lucinda for a while now. It was pretty obvious_." She said.

I sighed, "Yeah I guess you're right about that…"

"_So are you guys coming back to the hotel soon? It's nearly five o'clock now and we have to take showers and get ready for your family dinner. I know that you, Ayden and Lucinda have been in a diner all day but I think we all know how Francesca gets_." Aisha warned.

I nodded, "Okay, I'll go inside and let the others know what the plan is for tonight. What do you think that the guys are going to do tonight while we are out?" I questioned her.

"_Joe, Robb and Barry were planning a pool rematch so I'm assuming their going to head out to where ever they went last time_." She replied.

"I see, well I'm going to go get them now. We should be back in about fifteen minutes or so. The diner isn't that far from the hotel." I let her know.

"_Okay, I'll let Francesca know because she was bugging me about it earlier when we first got back to the hotel. Later_."

"See you." I said, hanging up the phone.

After I got done talking with Aisha, I entered the restaurant and let everyone know what the plan was. Just as I had been, they had also been surprised about how quickly time had passed. Ayden then made a comment about how we were going to be spending our entire day either in a hotel room or a restaurant.

When I finally returned to my hotel room, I took a shower and then decided to get dressed. Knowing my mother the way that I did, I picked out a nice dress that I have brought just in case and threw it on. It was yellow and I thought it was sometime cute to wear, especially since it was only mid–May.

The boys all headed towards the bar that they had hung out in a few nights previous while the rest of us headed out towards the restaurant. The bistro that my parents had chosen was called _Nonna Gina_ and was apparently a really nice place to eat in Krumlov. As it turned out, the place was owned by a Sicilian-Czech couple and served authentic Italian dishes—which was a cuisine that my family all enjoyed very much. We all ended up ordering our favorites and by the time the food arrived, we were all rubbing our stomachs in hunger and licking our lips in anticipation.

"God, this looks amazing!" Ayden exclaimed as he looked down at the lasagna sitting in front of him. We all laughed as he quickly grabbed his fork and started digging into his food.

"_Ahurissant_!" Francesca said excitedly, taking a bite of her pasta. She looked at Lucinda, "It takes just like Dad's old cooking."

Lucinda smirked, "Nothing can ever compete with your _padre's _cooking, Francesca."

Nathan shook his head as they spoke, "I can never keep up with you two. You switch between French and Italian so much." He said.

I grinned at him, "Dad, I think we should just ignore them then because I'm in the same boat as you and I grew up with it!"

"I could make things even more confusing and throw in some _Espanola_." Aisha offered sarcastically.

"NO!" Ayden, Nathan and I all exclaimed at once.

Aisha grinned, "I was just teasing—no need to confuse even more people."

"So," Nathan started, changing the subject, "How is work going for you two girls? Do you like your cast mates?"

'_Yeah Daddy, I do. A little too much in fact. I'm dating one of them_!' I said in my head.

Aisha answered enthusiastically for me though before I got the chance, "It's amazing Nathan. So far we've only been two places but—it's been great. Ireland was so beautiful and here in the Czech Republic is proving to be awesome too. As for the guys, they're great. Mercedes can attest to that."

"That I can, the guys are great and some of the evidence that we're been gathering as been amazing." I agreed before I took a bite of my own pasta.

Francesca snorted, "I still believe all of that is rubbish. There are no such things as spirits, entities or whatever you want to call them." She spat. "I can't believe you would waste your time and money on doing something like that."

It got silent after my mother made her comment. I turned to see Aisha, looking red in the face while Ayden and my father looking at Francesca in surprise. Lucinda on the other hand, looked completely emotionless on her face but her arms were storming with anger.

I had tried to promise myself that I wouldn't snap at my mother during our dinner, but I knew that if she kept making comments as her previous one, I wouldn't be able to control my temper. Francesca and I had very different views about the paranormal, but I couldn't understand why she would always berate me on my choice as a career.

"Francesca, that is enough!" Lucinda scolded my mother as if she was a young child. "We are here to celebrate Mercedes's birthday. I will not have you disrespecting my _nipote _when it's her special day. Everyone can have different views on the paranormal. You have yours and Mercedes has hers but I will not have you insulting her choice. _Vous devriez avoir honte_! _Vous êtes embarrassant nous. Nous sommes dans un lieu public. Ne parlez plus à moins que vous ayez quelque chose aimable pour dire_." The more she spoke, the angrier her voice became and eventually, she was admonishing my mother in French.

When she was finished, all the neighboring tables were staring at us, most likely wondering what was going on. A timid waiter came up to the table and asked in English if we needed anything more done to make our dinner a better experience. Lucinda politely told him that we were all well and told him the food was magnificent. She wasn't lying, the food was amazing.

For the rest of our family dinner, my mother was strangely silent. Ayden, Aisha, Lucinda, my father and I all carried on conversations. We mostly talked about the sights that we had seen, what evidence we had collected, what the traveling was like and we also told them more about the guys.

About an hour after we had entered the restaurant, we all left together, rubbing our overly full stomachs in delight. Despite the comments that my mother had made, the dinner had been a pleasant experience. Upon reaching the hotel, we said our goodnights and went our separate ways for the night.

I had just got into bed after getting comfortable when I got a phone call from Dustin.

"_Hey, how was your dinner_?" Dustin asked as soon as I answered.

I sighed, trying to figure out which part to tell him about first. "Well, it was good and bad."

I heard him chuckle, "_Do go on_."

"Well, my mother put the evening to a bad start by saying that our investigating was rubbish and that there were no such thing as ghosts. She said that everything we did was a waste of time and money." I started.

Dustin whistled over the phone, "_Yeah, that's not a good way to start a birthday dinner. I still can't believe she's your mother. You are nothing like her_."

I was angry at my mother, yet I felt the need to defend her. "She is just blunt and true to her beliefs. It's just the way she is. She believes that what she thinks in the right thing and thinks everyone else is wrong. That's just how her mind works—I'm used to it."

Dustin was silent for a while.

"Look, I'm not saying what she said or did was right. I'm just saying that she is the way she is for a reason. She can't change that. I know what she said to you was extremely rude but you can't hate her forever over it." I continued.

"_I could_…" Dustin retorted.

I ran a hand over my forehead, "Would you though?"

He was quiet a moment before he spoke, "_Probably not_."

"Exactly."

"_So_ _how was the rest of the night_?" Dustin said tensely, changing the subject.

I filled him in the rest of the night, telling him about all the things that we had discussed and how Lucinda, Ayden and my father all seemed to be proud of Aisha and I and they approved of the people that we worked with. Dustin was especially thankful for this, which I couldn't blame him any. We talked a little bit longer before my yawning became more frequent and Dustin said that I needed to go to sleep.

"But I'm not really tired…" I lied as I yawned.

Dustin laughed, "_Liar! You are yawning up a storm over there_!"

I sighed, "Okay, maybe I'm a little tired."

"_How about you get some sleep. Tomorrow is our last full day in Krumlov and with your family. I think Aisha mentioned something earlier about everyone going sightseeing, once again, together_." Dustin told me.

"That'll be interesting." I grunted.

Dustin snorted, "_Definitely, which is why you need your sleep_."

I gave in, "Fine. Goodnight Dustin."

"Night Babe, sweet dreams."

* * *

**So, what do ya'll think? Leave me a review, even if it's short I'll appriciate it anyways! I always love knowing my readers thoughts!! Thanks to all of you who have supported me, you've made my hobby of writing even more enjoyable knowing that I've made someone elses day by just typing up my thoughts into a story.**


	15. SC: Part 8 of 11

**Authors Note:** _I want to thank everyone who reviewed and alerted and favorited last week's chapter. I also want to thank all of you for the birthday wishes_ :) _They really put me in a good mood. lol. So in honor of my first 100,000 word long story ever (although Midnight Tryst is close, although it's not finished and probably won't be for a while thanks to a nasty case of writers block) I have a special surprise for all of you. Not only is this a long, informational chapter there is a surprise DUSTIN POV at the end of the chapter _:) _YAY! You will find out about Dustin's family in this chapter. Now since I really don't know anything about Dustin's family other than he's Italian, I took fanfiction writer liberties and made everything up. So I'm writing another disclaimer: _Remember, this is all fanfiction and none of this is real other than the history of the locations, the cities and hotels. I tried to get them as accurate as I could but remember, I don't own or actually know any of the GHI team members, I'm just making them up how I see fit. _But all that aside, I hope you enjoy this lengthy chapter and your DPOV :) Have fun reading folks and please review!!_

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So how about all those who have faved/alerted this story send me a review :) It'd make me super happy since we are nearing the end of the wire on the story!!

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_I Was Right_ - by - New Years Day

(**MPOV**)

and

_Beautiful Blue Eyes_ - by - Chiodos

(**DPOV**)

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**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 8 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

"Look at this one!" Aisha exclaimed, pointing at little shop in front of us.

I looked at the shop. It was a small store that appeared to sell candy. I didn't even think that they would have candy stores in Krumlov, but apparently I was proved wrong because right in from of me was a candy store.

"Is that a candy store?" I heard Joe asked incredulously. "If it is, that's wicked!" Ayden added excited. He and Joe then went up and started examining the windows to the store with were decorated in bright colors.

Aisha clapped her hands, "Yes I believe that that is a Czech Candy Store. I say we go inside."

"Uh Aish, are you sure you need all that extra sugar? You seem chipper enough this afternoon for a lifetime." My father teased.

I giggled and leaned over to where I was in a close distance with my father, "I think she's just in a good mood from the coffee that we had at that little café earlier." I whispered in his ear.

Aisha turned around to glare at my father and I, "I heard that!"

"Damn enhanced hearing." I replied sarcastically.

To strangers, we probably looked like a mob of tourists. There were ten of us total: Robb, Dustin, Joe, Aisha, Barry, my father, mother, grandmother, Ayden and then of course myself. It was about mid-afternoon and we had been walking around Krumlov for the past few hours just talking and getting to know each other better. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Dustin and Ayden strike up a conversation about their mutual love of working with technology while my father and Lucinda talked with Barry, Joe and Robb about their views on the paranormal. My mother once again was strangely quiet, only talking directly to my father, Lucinda or Ayden. I found it extremely odd that she hadn't said one word to me since the outburst at the restaurant the night before but I didn't worry about it and decided to have a good last day with the rest of my family and my last day in Krumlov.

Besides looking into the candy store, we also went into several other stores that they had around the town as well including vintage shops, which my mother seemed to adore, and tourist stores. We visited a couple of museums and also took my family out to the Cesky Krumlov grounds. They all seemed to be really impressed with the beauty of the buildings, even my mother.

Barry and I had both brought our cameras and ended up taking tons of pictures together. I couldn't help but think about when Dustin and I went off alone and explored the city and had taken pictures. When I looked over at Dustin and saw him smirking at me, I knew he was thinking the exact same thing.

Dustin and I tried to keep our interaction to a minimal around the others. We talked and everything but not so much that it seemed like we were super close. We did however, exchange lots of meaningful glances and winks as well as playful pushes whenever we got the chance. It was incredibly juvenile for a twenty-four year old and a thirty-one year old but we didn't mind in the least. The others didn't suspect a thing and that made me extremely thankful. I also knew that Dustin would probably try to sneak to my room that night, if at all possible.

At the end of the day, everyone seemed to have really bonded and were getting along like old friends, which the exception of Francesca. We ate a late dinner together before we exchanged plans to have breakfast together before my family had to catch their flight home while the rest of us headed back to Ireland.

Once back in my hotel room, I took a shower and put on my pajamas and read a book while I waited for Dustin to arrive. I knew he wouldn't come to my room until at least after ten, if not later so I decided to get comfortable on my bed and get back into the book I had been reading when he had interrupted me the last time.

It was nearly an hour and a half later when I heard a knock on my hotel room door. But, when I opened the door, it wasn't Dustin like I expected. It was my _mother_.

"Mom?" I asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

She sighed heavily before she pursed her lips and spoke, "Can I come in _mon chéri_? I need to talk to you about something before we leave tomorrow."

I ran a hand through my hair quickly, "Uh yeah, sure." I opened the door and gestured for her to come in.

As I did this, I peaked down the hallway behind my mother and saw Dustin beginning to leave his hotel room. '_Shit_!' I thought and began to panic slightly in my head. '_My mother cannot see Dustin_!' So, trying to get his attention before he got too far down the hall towards my suite and my mother noticed, I waved my hands and gestured for him to stop and not come into my room. He looked confused but after a few moments of me gesturing into my room and making the '_slit-throat_' sign on my throat, he slowly backed up and retreated back to his room.

'_Crisis one avoided, now to deal with Crisis two_.' I thought sadly, entering my room.

When I got into the suite, my mother was sitting down on one of the arm chairs provided in the suite, "You have a full length mirror in your room," she observed, "We don't have one of those. Maybe I need to talk to the staff. They really should put one in every room. It's only fair and—" she rambled.

I interrupted her, "Why did you come here? You said you needed to talk and I don't think it was about you being jealous of my mirror."

Francesca sighed and for the first time in my entire life, I saw my mother look nervous. When she looked up at me, she looked completely lost and I felt a little bad for her. I mean, she was my mother after all. "I know, I just—I wanted to apologize for what I said the other night and what I said to your teammates and well just apologize for the whole trip basically. I've only stressed you out instead of making sure you had a good birthday. You aren't a little girl anymore—you can make your own choices. I only want what's best for you." She whispered the last part.

I sat down on the best across from her and crossed my arms across my chest, "That might be true but what you think is best for me, probably isn't want is best for me. As much as you hate to admit it, we are two entirely different people and what you think might be best probably really isn't."

I saw tears beginning to build up in her eyes and I suddenly felt a pang of regret. When she spoke, her voice cracked, "I know Mercedes, I know. I try to do what is best for you, I really do. I'm sorry. I just ended up making this trip a complete disaster." She muttered.

I shook my head vigorously, "You didn't make it a bad trip. I loved getting to see you, but it was your attitude that ticked me off. I don't care if you don't approve of the team or my job but you didn't have to treat them the way you did or berate my work the way you did."

Francesca wiped her eyes slightly, "But I do approve of your teammates, they are good people." She said. "Even that Dustin kid, I probably shouldn't have insulted his hair. He seemed to get pretty offended by that." She observed.

"That he did, but that's just Dustin for you. He's sensitive over that because everyone teases him about it constantly." I remarked with a smirk.

Suddenly, my mother got a wicked grin on her face and her eyes began to crinkle around the corners, showing their age, "You know _mon chéri_, he's pretty cute." She hinted.

My cheeks started to heat up on their own accord, I turned my head and spoke in what I hoped was a clear voice, "Yeah he is but I don't think that dating is aloud. I think that supposedly the producers frown upon it."

Francesca gave me a 'duh' look before she said, "What they don't know won't hurt them, sweetie."

I rolled my eyes because I knew that my mother was back to her usual erratic self, "Sure mother, that's a fantastic idea." I told her sarcastically.

"Isn't it?" she asked excited, not catching the sarcasm in my voice.

I knew once again I had to fabricate another lie, "But still, we can't date. He's uh—he's taken." I lied.

After I said this, she seemed to sober quickly, "Oh, well that's alright I guess. I'm sure you can meet some cute boy while you're traveling Europe, maybe even have a little fun while you're here." She suggested.

I shook my head, "I have a job to do while I'm here, it isn't just all fun and games and fooling around. This is like a once in a lifetime experience for me and usually our families don't get to fly out to see us personally. Usually we aren't supposed to see our families at all while we are gone."

"I understand that, well maybe you could at least make a few friends if you go to Italy or Paris so you can see them again the next time we travel there for our family trip." Francesca told me with a dramatic sigh.

Once again I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure I can manage that just for you, mother."

"Good," she said. My mother was quiet for a moment before she got up and surprised me as she wrapped me up into a hug, "I'm proud of you, Mercedes. You have accomplished so much and you work so hard to earn everything that you own. I may not say it often, but I am proud of you _mon chéri_."

I felt a few tears building up, "Thank you, mother. That means a lot."

We pulled away after a few minutes and my mother straightened up her clothes before she stood up, looking like the stiff, prim and proper woman that she was, "Well, I need to return back to my room and finish packing up our stuff. I'll see you for breakfast in the morning." She told me softly.

"Okay, bye mom." I said, walking her over to the door.

"Bye sweetie." She said with a sigh as she left.

I leaned up against the door and tried to process everything that had went on in the past ten or fifteen minutes. My mother had came to my room and apologized and I also watched her breakdown for the first time in my entire life. It had been entirely strange because never in my life had I ever gone through something like that with me mother.

I was still leaning against my door when someone tapped softly on it. When I opened the door, I saw Dustin standing there looking entirely confused and oh so cute. "Hey." I whispered.

He entered the room slowly, "So what was up with the 'slit-throat' signal?" he asked.

I closed the door as soon as he was completely inside my room, "My mother decided to pay me a little visit just before you started to come to my room. I'm really glad that I just so happened to see you or else we could have had a disaster on our hands." I told him with a frustrated moan.

Dustin took his hand and brushed it against my cheek lightly, "But we didn't." he told me optimistically.

"And that's a good thing."

"So what did you mother come to talk to you about?" Dustin asked as he pulled me into the room and plopped down on the oversized arm chair that my mother had previously been sitting in. The only difference was that he brought me down with him so I was sitting comfortably in his lap with his muscular arms wrapped around my tiny frame.

"She came to apologize for the way that she's been acting and the way that she's been treating everyone here. She actually started crying. I've never seen my mother cry before. She's always so prim and proper so, I've never seen her breakdown or crack until tonight." I explained to him.

As I spoke, Dustin turned his eyes upon my face and listened with great earnest. He was the first guy I had ever met that wasn't a family member that actually sat down and really listened to what I had to say. He didn't just ask questions and then pretend to listen, he actually cared about what I had to say—therefore he listened. And I was thankful for that.

I continued, telling him about my mother's entire conversation with me. Dustin nodded and made comments in all the right places. When I got to the part where my mother had started talking about Dustin, he tensed slightly.

"She didn't say anything bad, I promise." I assured him. "In fact, it was all quite good."

Dustin raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"Yes, I'm being very serious right now." I said but despite my words, I wouldn't help but smile. I couldn't keep a serious look on my face as he looked at me.

"Well that's rich, you look oh so serious right now." He teased, ruffling my hair playfully.

I smacked his arm childishly, "I am being serious! She said that she was sorry that she had insulted your hair but she hadn't known that you would get so offended by it. She then said that you were pretty cute and thought that I should date you. I had to lie and say you were taken." I told him.

Dustin grinned and brought me closer to his body, "But I am taken, so it wasn't a complete lie. She just didn't know that I'm taken by you." He said as he placed a small kiss on my temple.

I melted into his arms. Dustin was so sweet it was unreal sometimes. I felt like I was in some sort of fairytale dream whenever I was around him because I had never, ever been in a relationship where a man had been so attentive and sweet to me. I had never been in a relationship where I got butterflies in the pit of my stomach whenever the man kissed me. I got butterflies just as the mention of Dustin's name. It was completely pathetic but I didn't care, I was falling for Dustin Pari.

I brought my hands up to his face and brought it to mine, closing my lips over his in a sweet kiss. He opened his mouth slightly, taking my top lip in his. We continued in the pattern for a while before we both pulled away at the same time.

"I missed you today." He murmured.

I shook my head in amazement, "How could you miss me? You were with me all day long."

He shrugged and pulled me into another kiss, "Yeah but I couldn't do this any at all today since we were with your family all day."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure that you could survive." Dustin pouted at this and I couldn't hold back my laughter, "You look like a little puppy." I said as I brought my fingers to his lips. "It's cute."

"I'm glad you think I'm cute," Dustin said smugly.

"Not you, I meant the pout." I retorted.

Dustin replied, "But my pout is a part of me, thus you think I'm cute."

"Smartass," I muttered under my breath. Dustin looked like he was about to comment so I cut him off and decided to change the subject, "So are you excited to get back to Ireland tomorrow?" I asked.

Thankfully Dustin went along with my change of subject, "Yeah I am actually, I think it's going to be a lot of fun. So what exactly is the case we're doing again?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out in a couple days!" I teased. Robb and I had already gathered up all the paperwork and had made all the arrangements for the manor house that we were going to investigate. I had already started my research but didn't want to give a lot of it away until the day of the investigation. I thought it would make the case more suspenseful that way.

"Why can't you tell me?" Dustin asked.

I shrugged and got up off his lap, grabbing my laptop case from off of the small table where it was charging, "Because you like the others will find out more information about it the day of. It will make things more interesting that way, trust me." I told him as I pressed a few buttons of the computer, turning it off and putting it in its case for the night.

"Can't you at least give me something?" he pleaded as I began to make my way back over to him.

I tapped my finger on my chin, "Well, we will have to ride a boat taxi over to it."

"Is it a lighthouse?"

I shook my head at Dustin's guess, "No it's not and even if it was a lighthouse, I wouldn't tell you. It's going to be a secret."

"Fine then," Dustin said, holding up his hands in surrender.

We talked for a while longer, mostly about random things like usual. But suddenly, he raised up his hands and stretched, "Well, I know I haven't been here very long but it's getting late." He commented, looking at my clock.

I looked at it too and was surprised that it was way past midnight, "Wow, time sure went by quickly tonight." I said with a sigh.

Dustin stood up off the chair and kissed me on the forehead, "Get some rest, night Babe."

"Goodnight." I told him.

Dustin let himself out and I proceeded to get ready for bed. I crawled under the covers and turned out the lights, eventually falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next morning seemed like a blur of activity for each and every one of us. Breakfast passed quickly without any incidents much to my satisfaction. My mother even engaged a conversation with each of the guys, surprising them all. She even talked with Dustin, although I did catch the looks she threw my way ever so often.

After breakfast, we all headed back to our rooms and were going to pack up all our stuff to head out. We were dropping my family off at the nearest airport at around 3pm and then the rest of us were going to make our way back to Ireland. We had decided that since we had two and a half days to get down to the manor house, that we would stay overnight in Frankfurt, Germany and then again the next day in Manchester, UK before continuing the rest of the way to the manor house, which was located on a place called Rathlin Island.

I was currently doing one last sweep over my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. This time, I hadn't spread so much stuff out and had been better at keeping all my belongings in my suitcases so it didn't take me any time at all to get my things packed up and ready to take out to the vans.

A knock on my door interrupted me just as I was finishing up my sweep. When I got to the door, I saw Ayden and Lucinda standing outside. I gestured for them both to come inside, "My room must be a popular place." I teased as they entered.

"Seems to be that way," Ayden replied.

"So what are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to finish packing." I commented curiously.

Lucinda nodded, "We did but we're finished now. Actually Mercedes, Ayden and I are here because we want to discuss something with you."

"That we do." Ayden chimed in, interrupting Lucinda. "Sorry," he murmured as she gave him a reprimanding glare.

"Anyways, we want you to be completely honest with us, _trésor." _Lucinda finished.

Not thinking much of it, I nodded and gestured with my hand, "Sure, what is it then?" I asked them both curiously.

Ayden and Lucinda shared a small glance before Ayden blurted out the question, "Sis, I think you are keeping something from all of us. Are you and Dustin together? I mean secretly."

I literally felt my face drain of color the second that the words left Ayden's mouth. "I—uh—what?" I stuttered. "W-why would you t-think that?"

No one had ever outright asked if Dustin and I were together before. People might have hinted but they never outright asked and I wasn't sure if I could lie right in my brother and _nonna's_ face.

When Lucinda finally spoke, her voice was soft but it made me fidget none the less, "Because _trésor, _your face is an open book to all who look at you. Your feelings for Dustin are spelled right across your features. The looks that you and Dustin exchange when you think that no one is looking speak for themselves. You love him, _trésor." _

I held up my hands, now I could feel my face burst into flames at her comments, "_Nonna_, I wouldn't go that far." I said, using the Italian word for grandmother to try and butter her up.

Unfortunately, Ayden caught the hidden message in my words, "So you _are _together!" he exclaimed.

I sighed and had a quick argument in my head. Dustin and I had agreed to tell no one, but I had also told him that if Aisha or one of my family members outright asked me that I wouldn't and couldn't lie to them about our relationship. So in a split second, I made my decision and spoke before I could change my mind, "Yes, Dustin and I are dating, _but," _I stressed the word 'but', "We agreed to keep things just between the two of us. We couldn't have the others knowing because we aren't sure about how the producers feel about cast members dating so we figured the less people who knew, the less trouble would be caused." I explained quickly.

"I knew it!" Ayden shouted, pumping his fist into the hair playfully like he had just won a medal.

Lucinda rolled her eyes at Ayden's childishness, "Hush up, Ayden." She then looked at me, "But _trésor, _you may not realize it yet but I think that you will someday." She told me cryptically.

I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrow in confusion, "Realize what?"

Lucinda winked before she replied, "You'll understand in time, _trésor_. I think Dustin is a nice young man and he'll treat you right."

"I agree, as much as I don't really want to think about my sister dating something, Dustin's a pretty chill guy. He's much better than all the other snooze fests that you've exchanged spit with, Sis." He told me vulgarly.

I wrinkled my nose at his choice of words and glared, "You are such a jerk Ayden! I did not date snooze fests!" I defended myself. "At least I actually date instead of following the same person around for nearly four years like a lost puppy."

Ayden glared right back and took a step closer, "I do not follow—"

Lucinda cut us off quickly, "Children! Stop acting like children!" she exclaimed. Ayden and I both turned and gave her a funny look at her choice of words. She ended up bringing her hand to her mouth and chuckling, "Oh my, that statement made no sense whatsoever. Anywho Ayden, you and I are done bugging your sister for the day. We need to start getting our things to the van."

Ayden nodded and I decided to walk them both towards the doors, "I'll really miss you guys. I didn't even realize how much I depended on seeing you all regularly until I wasn't around you at all."

Lucinda opened up her arms and hugged me tightly to her frail body, "Oh _trésor, _we'll miss you as well!"

Ayden smirked, "As much as I hate to agree, I miss you being around a lot as well. But, I'll see you in about a month or two, right?" he questioned.

I thought for a moment, "Well, I won't be returning to the United States until late June, so that's about two and a half months, champ." I said, breaking away from Lucinda and pulling my little brother into a hug.

"Well, you can still call and text me. I'll always answer you unless I'm working, playing a gig or sleeping." He replied.

I ruffled his hair, "That's nice to know, sport."

Ayden pushed my away from him, "Stop with the cutsie little boy nicknames! I'm nineteen, not four!" he exclaimed in a exasperated voice.

"Sorry, bud." I teased.

Ayden pushed me, "Seriously, stop it."

I pushed him back playfully, "Okay I'll stop, you guys need to finish packing and I need to get my stuff out the vans as well." I told them.

"Okay," Lucinda replied, "We'll see you soon then."

And with that, she and Ayden left my hotel room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sunk quietly down on my bed and dropped my head into my hands. Lucinda and Ayden now knew that Dustin and I were dating.

'_What am I going to do now_?' I thought miserably.

* * *

**Dustin's POV**

- _**Bohemia, Czech Republic, 2009**_ -

So far, the last week had been complete chaos and I was thanking God that it was finally over with. I had been nervous as hell to meet Mercedes family and when she had clued me in on the fact that her family was fucking billionaires, I nearly had a heart attack right then and there in her room. My family was well off when it came to money but we also didn't have fancy foreign cars, expensive brand name clothing or the newest and most expensive technology out there either which was something I had slowly noticed in Mercedes's lifestyle. I had noticed that Mercedes seemed to always dress nice, but it had never occurred to me to ask exactly how she had acquired all her nice things.

In the end though, her family turned out to be pretty normal despite their high status in society. Her father, brother and grandmother were perfectly civil and respectful towards us, our crew and our line of work. Mercedes's mother on the other hand, was a completely different story. Mercedes hadn't been lying when she said that her mother was snooty and just not like a _normal_ parent. Luckily, for some unknown reason, Francesca Culvert began to open up towards the end of the trip. She had even carried on a casual conversation with me at breakfast without making a snobby comment.

We were now at the end of our time in Krumlov, Czech Republic. Everyone had squeezed into the three vans we had with us to take Mercedes's family to the airport, which was where we were at this present moment in time. Their flight was leaving in about five to ten minutes so everyone was saying their goodbyes and have-a-nice-flight's to each other.

"I'm going to miss you, _mon chéri_!" Francesca squealed as she literally tackled Mercedes in a hug.

The look on her face was priceless. Her jaw dropped and her lips formed into a perfect 'o' as her eyes widened in complete shock, "Uhm, I'll miss you too?" she told her mother, yet her tone held a hint of question to it.

Mercedes's father, Nathan, went up and hugged Mercedes next, "We'll see you soon, Baby. You have a good trip and get some good evidence, you hear me?" he teased sternly.

Personally, I thought it ironic that both Mercedes father and I had the same nickname for her: '_Baby_.' Of course Nathan's way of saying it was purely in fatherly terms while mine was more out of affection and endearment. While I was thinking about this, I had missed the rest of the exchange between Nathan and Mercedes as well as Lucinda's goodbye to her granddaughter. When I finally focused on my girlfriend, I saw that she was saying goodbye to her younger brother. Mercedes had been right, her brother and I did get along really well despite the fact that he was a lot younger than me.

There were more hugs and even some tears, mostly from Mercedes, Aisha, Lucinda and Francesca. But the highlight of the entire experience was when Ayden came up and said, "It was nice to meet you, man." But, what surprised me even more was when he clapped me on the back and then pulled me into a manly hug goodbye. Then unexpectedly, he was speaking lowly near my ear, too low for anyone else to hear, "Take care of my sister man or I'll make you wish that you were never born. I don't care if your nearly twelve years older than me, I will hunt you down. Just watch out for her and make sure that nothing bad happens to her. I trusting her to you, don't make me regret that choice. Oh, and don't worry about my mother man. She'll grow to like you eventually." He whispered.

Before I could say anything, he pulled away and walked back over to his sister, wrapping his arms around her and twirling her around playfully, causing her to squeal. My face paled and I wondered exactly what Ayden had meant by, '_I trusting her to you, don't make me regret that choice_.'

'_He can't know that Mercedes and I are together—can he_?' I wondered in panic.

And as if he could read my thoughts, Ayden looked my direction and winked.

If possible, in that moment I'm pretty sure my face turned white as a sheet. Barry, who was standing near me, noticed and asked me about it, "Are you alright, Dustin? You look pale."

I nodded and swallowed heavily, "Yeah, I'm good man." I lied.

Fifteen minutes later, Mercedes's family was on their plane headed back towards the United States while Robb, Mercedes, Barry, Joe, Aisha and I were all back into the vans and were headed back towards Ireland.

The drive seemed to be literally never ending. I usually enjoyed long car rides. Don't ask me why but for some strange reason I found them utterly relaxing and comfortable. I enjoyed sitting in the passenger's seat, staring out the window and watching the scenery pass by the window. Another thing that was strange was that I usually didn't like to sleep in cars either and if I did, it wasn't for long periods of time. I didn't like the fact that I had little leg room to spread out. I could sleep better in the backseat if I was able to lay down then if I was sitting in the front seat. Of course, I didn't really mind this because my aversion to sleeping in cars gave me a better chance to check out the scenery that we passed by on the way. But this six, almost seven, hour long car ride from Krumlov to Frankfurt was nearly killer for me. I wanted to hurry up and get to our hotel in Frankfurt so that I could talk to Mercedes about what Ayden had said to me. I figured that she probably knew more about what he had meant if I did. And, if I just so happened to be overreacting and reading too much into things then she could tell me.

Robb decided to drive the entire time today and that I could take over tomorrow. I didn't have much of a problem with the plan. Barry and Joe had decided on a similar deal. Because of this, we wouldn't have to stop as much and hopefully would be able to get to Ireland by earlier afternoon on Thursday, which was two days away. From there, we would go straight to where the case was located and would investigate that very night.

About halfway through the never-ending drive, I turned around in my seat and snuck a look at Mercedes. I let out a small chuckle when I saw that she was curled up slightly in her seat, completely asleep. She had her head resting against the window and her bangs were falling in front of her eyes. She had also pulled her legs up to where they were curled up under her body. She looked absolutely beautiful—even unconscious. I knew that she probably wouldn't wake up so I took my own opportunity to get some shut eye and closed my eyes and drifted off the sleep for a quick cat-nap.

* * *

- _**Frankfurt, Germany 2009**_ -

When we finally arrived in Frankfurt, it was about 10:30pm. I had woken up around 9:30 or 10pm and had been awake ever since. Mercedes on the other hand was still curled up, fast asleep in the backseat.

"Do you want to wake her up?" Robb whispered as we exited the vehicle. "I'm going to go ahead inside and check us all in."

I nodded and started towards the door that Mercedes was sleeping behind, "Yeah, I can do that." I told him. "Do you know where the others are?" I inquired curiously as I looked around and saw that the other two vans hadn't arrived yet.

"Barry radioed in and said that they all should be here in about five to ten minutes. I gave him the directions to the hotel and a description of what it looked like, just in case." Robb replied.

"Probably a smart idea, some of those directions were a little hard to figure out." I commented.

Robb chuckled, "I think it was all the German. I don't think any of us are used to all that yet."

Sometime during the drive, Barry, Aisha and Joe's van and the van that the cameramen had been driving had gotten cut off from the van that Robb, Mercedes and I were riding in and hadn't been able to catch up with us all the way. Barry and Will had frequently radioed in for directions and had been able to catch up a lot but not all the way.

When Robb had left to go inside the small hotel, I was about to open the car door when I remembered that Mercedes had been leaning against the car door. I knew that if I opened the door, she would tumble out of van and probably would get really pissed at me for making her fall out of the van. So, I walked to the other side of the van and quietly opened the opposite door and took in the sight of my sleeping girlfriend. I crawled into the roomy backseat and leaned over her small form. I stood still for a moment because I was unsure on how to wake her up.

'_Mercedes and Aisha hate to being woke up. Maybe it's a girl thing_.' I reasoned in my head. '_I need to be gentle about this—I think_.'

I faintly wondered if she was a light or heavy sleeper and decided against shaking her awake. Instead, I decided to wake her up in a way that we could both enjoy. I gently pressed my lips against hers several times in succession. Before long, I heard a soft but superbly enticing moan escape her plump lips and I knew that I had successfully awakened her.

I pulled back away and put about a foot of distance between the two of us. Patiently, I watched as her eyelashes began fluttering against her high cheekbones and her eyes slowly opened, allowing me to see into their swirly blue depths. It was cliché but I absolutely adored her eyes. They were like two pools of water that were just begging to be swam in.

"Well that was a nice wake up call." Her usual soft soprano voice sounded raspy from sleep, but it was still entrancing. Mercedes sat up and began rubbing her eyes, "Where are we?"

"We're in Frankfurt at the hotel, Robb's inside checking us in and getting our room keys for the night. He decided that I would be the one to wake you up." I told her as I reached over and brushing away some of her hair that had fallen in her face while she had been sleeping.

"Where are the others? Are they inside with Robb?" she questioned sleepily.

I shook my head, "No Babe, they got delayed back near the Czech Republic borderline. We were going to stop and wait for them but Barry and Will insisted for us to keep on going and they could just radio in for instructions if they needed to do so. They've been trying to catch back up to us ever since but they should be here in ten minutes or so."

Mercedes's eyes widened in surprise, "Are you serious? Did I sleep the entire ride here then?" she asked me.

I thought back to when I had first noticed she had fallen asleep, "I think you fell asleep maybe an hour after we left the airport."

Mercedes shook her head in disbelief before she started to raise her arms up and stretch, "Wow, that's just pathetic. And the sad thing is—" she cut herself off with a loud yawn, "—I'm still tired!" she exclaimed in surprise.

I gently took her tiny hand in my much larger one and began to help her out of the van. When we were both standing outside the van, I took her face and brought it to mine one last time.

"What was that for?" Mercedes asked when I pulled away.

I rested my forehand against hers, "In case I don't have the chance to kiss you goodnight later. I think you're going to be out as soon as you get into your hotel room."

She looked like she was about the protest but another yawn escaped her lips, "Okay, maybe I will crash as soon as we get our suites. It's been a really long week." She muttered quietly.

"That it has." I replied softly. Ayden's words once again popped into my head and I wondered if it would be a good idea to tell Mercedes or not. I decided that if anything, I couldn't keep this from her so I told her, "Mercedes, does your brother know about us being together?"

Mercedes stumbled backwards, shocked by my words. At first I thought it was because she was just plain shocked that I had asked her, but then I saw one emotion on her face: guilt. Everything became clear then, he did know. Then I began to wonder, how did he come to find out that Mercedes and I were in a relationship? Did Mercedes tell him? Or did he find out some other way. Then another thought struck me, did her whole family know?

"Dustin, I—I can explain." Mercedes told me, fear laced in her voice.

I nodded, "Okay, what happened?"

"This morning Lucinda and Ayden came by my room and told me that they needed to discuss something with me. Not thinking anything about it, I let them into my suite and asked them what it was that they needed to talk to me about. Ayden all of a sudden blurted out that he thought that you and I were together and wanted to know if it was true or not. I tried to change the subject but Lucinda said that we were an open book to everyone and that our feelings that we had for each other were clear. I couldn't lie to them Dustin—I just couldn't. I'm sorry." She pleaded.

I sighed in frustration before I closed my eyes and ran my hand through my hair. I wasn't angry or frustrated with Mercedes, just the situation. It wasn't her fault that her brother and grandmother were extremely observant. I couldn't be angry with Mercedes for something that wasn't her fault. I didn't think I could even be angry at Mercedes period. I also couldn't force Mercedes to lie to her own family. If the situation was reversed and my parents or sisters were asking me about Mercedes, I couldn't lie to them either.

When I opened up my eyes again, Mercedes was fidgeting and her brows were scrunched together in worry, "Are you mad, Dustin?" she whispered in a broken voice.

I brought my hands up and cradled her face softly, "No Baby, of course not. I'm not mad at you, just frustrated about the situation. Do your parents know too?" I asked her.

She shook her head firmly, "No, just Ayden and Lucinda know. I don't think they'll tell Francesca and Nathan. I told them that we were trying to keep things a secret and then I explained to them why." She assured me.

"Good," I murmured.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, "They approve you know," she told me. "Lucinda and Ayden said that you would take good care of me and that they approved of us being together. Ayden even said, and I quote: '_As much as I don't really want to think about my sister dating something, Dustin's a pretty chill guy. He's much better than all the other snooze fests that you've exchanged spit with_.'" She said, using her fingers to make quotations when she quoted Ayden.

I couldn't help but laugh, "He seriously said that?"

Mercedes nodded, "That he did, the spit comment and all."

"So I'm the first guy that you've dated that isn't a snooze fest?" I teased with a smirk, using Ayden's words against her.

She scowled and brought her hands up to my chest before lighting shoving me away from her, "Don't be a jerk, Dustin." Mercedes spat, crossing her arms over her own chest.

I closed the distance between us again and kissed her firmly, "I'm not being a jerk, just being curious. We've never talked about this before." I muttered against her lips.

Mercedes sighed and pulled away from me, "Okay so maybe some of the men that I have dated in the past were a little boring but they weren't all snooze fests. Ayden is just exaggerating. He just didn't like them because all of them thought that his technology that he had set up around our house wasn't interesting." She said with a heavy sigh.

I let out a soft chuckle, "So did Ayden ever come up with master plans to get rid of the boring boyfriends of yours? I know my twin sisters came up with a few evil tactics to get rid of mine and my older brother's girlfriends whenever they didn't like."

Mercedes's eyes widened with interest, "Oh really now?" she asked coyly. "But no, Ayden never deliberately tried to get rid of my boyfriends. What did your sisters do?" she asked.

I thought back to Veronica and Valerie's plans against mine and Anthony's girlfriends in the past. They had gone as far as giving them foot cream but telling them that it was a facial cleanser. It ended up breaking their faces out. Needless to say, thanks to my younger sisters, my brother and I didn't have many girlfriends throughout high school. Eventually, my sister matured though and didn't torture our girlfriends like they had done when they were younger.

'_I wonder what Veronica and Valarie will think of Mercedes_…' I briefly mused. "Well," I continued aloud, answered Mercedes questions, "There was a time where Veronica and Valarie, my sisters, switched facial cream with foot cream and gave it to mine and Anthony's girlfriends. Their faces broke out really bad and when they found out what our sister's had done, they were really pissed off at me and Anthony even thought it wasn't even our faults." I explained.

Mercedes looked absolutely horrified, "They don't still do things like that, do they?" I asked.

I shook my head, "They've grown up a lot since then. They are about twenty-eight now so they've outgrown that stage. You'll be safe when they finally get to meet you. I think they'll like you anyways."

"What about your brother? His name is Anthony, right?" I asked.

I nodded, "Anthony will like you as well. He's really easy going. Kind of like Ayden in that aspect."

"And your parents?" she squeaked.

"My parents, Tony and Serena, will love you as well. Serena loves anyone and everything. She's just one of those mothers that if she could adopt the entire world, she would. Tony is like Anthony, they are both easy going." I assured her.

"Was Anthony named after your father?" Mercedes asked curiously.

"Yeah he was, except my father's name is Antonio and is the proper Italian spelling of it." I replied.

Mercedes opened her mouth to speak when suddenly headlights began shining in our faces. We both shielded our eyes slightly and turned to see who was blinding us. I was almost a little disappointed to see that the other two GHI vans had arrived because they meant the end of my conversation with Mercedes. I hoped that someday we wouldn't have to do everything in secret—but for the meantime, it was for the best.

Gavin, Chad, Blaine, Will, Jim and Zach all piled out of the van that the cameramen had traveled in and let us know that they were going to go into the hotel to check in with Robb. Seconds later we heard another van door opening, "Hey guys!" Aisha exclaimed as she emerged from inside the second van.

Mercedes grinned over at her best friend, "Did you guys have a nice drive?" she asked.

Barry and Joe stepped out next from either side of the front of the vehicle, "It was a pleasant drive, other than the traffic jam we ran into back near the Czech Republic line." Barry replied.

Joe chuckled, "Robb must have a lead foot or something because he was already a little ahead of us when there was some sort of wreck. They had to stop traffic for a while until they got everything cleared out of the way and the people transferred to the hospital."

"Was everyone okay?" I asked curiously.

Aisha shrugged her shoulders, "We didn't really see much, we only saw it after traffic started moving again."

"Well, we should get inside and get our room keys from Robb." Barry said. "I don't know about all of you's, but I'm beat." He told us in a tired voice.

I ambled over to Barry and clapped him on the shoulder, "That was probably a pretty long drive for you guys," I said.

"You have no idea," Barry replied. "But you'll experience it tomorrow I'm sure. You get to drive through the UK, that's always a nightmare."

I groaned, "That's just great."

I heard a soft giggle from behind me and something soft brush my arm, "You'll do fine." Mercedes told me as she and Aisha linked arms and strolled into the small hotel together with Joe.

When I looked over at Barry, he was watching Aisha with loving eyes. 'Is something going on there for sure now?' I wondered.

Before I got the chance to question it, Barry turned to me and said, "Let's go," Before he too started to walk into the hotel.

I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets and walked slowly behind them. When I entered the lobby, Robb was hanging keys out in pairs. He explained that the hotel didn't have many rooms available so we were going to have to share. It was the same as always: Barry and Joe, Mercedes and Aisha, Robb and I, Will and Jim, Chad and Gavin, and lastly Blaine and Zach.

As soon as Robb and I entered into our hotel room, Robb changed right away and collapsed down on the bed and was snoring in minutes. That was one of the things that I really didn't enjoy about sharing a room with him—he snored, loudly. It wasn't that much of a nuisance but it wasn't something that I particularly enjoyed either.

I fumbled around in the dark, pulling on a pair of shorts and a cut off before turning in as well. I was particularly tired from sleeping during the car ride but I knew that I had a long drive ahead of me the next day. I lay on my back and stared up at the non decretive white ceiling until sleep finally took over.

* * *

**Thoughts, comments, suggestions: all welcome :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!**


	16. SC: Part 9 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Hey guys, I really don't have much to say other than we're nearing the end of 'Skeleton In The Closet'. Only two chapters left after this one. I don't have 'Gates of Hell' written and I'm honestly not sure when I'm going to have the time to start it unfortunately. But, I hope you all enjoy and review as always because everyone needs some props every once in a while :)_

_Happy Reading,_

_- RIP._

**PS IMPORTANT ONE SHOT INFORMATION**_. For anyone who is interested, I'm posting a Tango/Kris one-shot of their little adventure with the phone booth during the season four, episode fifteen or commonly known as: '**So She Married an Axe Murderer'**. While others may not agree, I always thought that Tango and Kris would be adorable together. I know they aren't in real life but this is how I imagine things would have or should have gone during the episode. Also, it's JUST a one-shot, absolutely nothing more. But it does tie in with the 'It's The Fear' GHI Alternate Universe (as I've decided to call it.) Basically, if Tango or Kris would show up in_ It's The Fear_, their story would be the same, it's kind of an outtake if you will._ _I ask you all to check it out and leave a review :) It'd be greatly appreciated. _

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**PLAYLIST:**

_My Heart Will Go On_

-by-

New Found Glory

**

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**

It's The Fear

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 9 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

**- **_**Rathlin Island, N. Ireland 2009**_** -**

We had finally arrived in Ireland after nearly two days. We were about ten or fifteen miles away from where we were going to ride the boat taxi to the place where we were investigating so Robb let me know that the camera's were going to be filming soon so I had to give my little spiel. This time, the other team members—minus Robb and myself—didn't have much info on what exactly we were investigating other than it was on an island and notorious for its hauntings. I was actually really excited about giving the others the details on the place because it supposedly had really good activity.

"So how does it feel to be back in Ireland again?" Robb asked Dustin and I.

"Well, it's cold for one thing." I mumbled quietly from where I was huddled underneath one of Dustin's oversized sweatshirts.

After we had left Frankfurt, Dustin, Jim and Joe drove us straight to Manchester, UK where we stayed overnight. Barry, Joe and Will resumed driving the next morning and we drove straight to Ireland where we now were. Of course we had to stop near Ballycastle, Ireland so we could get on the boat taxi to get to our actual destination since it _was _an island after all.

That morning when we woke up in Manchester, it was much cooler than normal. I figured that it was just the morning air and that it would better warmer as the day went on. I was wrong. The further north we traveled, the colder I became. It didn't help that both Dustin and Robb seemed to be hot natured and seemed to love the cold and decided to use the AC even though it was freezing inside the van. I had to bless Dustin because when he noticed me shivering in the backseat, he acted like he was getting too hot in his sweatshirt so he took it off and had put it in the backseat with me. About fifteen minutes later I casually told him I was freezing my ass off and asked to wear it once again. Of course he had absolutely no problem with this but we were trying to be sneaky about it so Robb wouldn't suspect anything. Luckily he didn't and just teased me saying that the sweatshirt basically swallowed my tiny body. So that's how I got to be curled up in the backseat of the GHI van with Dustin's sweatshirt covering me.

"Come on Mercedes, it's not that cold!" Robb told me.

I rolled my eyes, "Says you. You guys must be hot natured or something."

Dustin chuckled, "Maybe it's a guy thing because maybe it's just me but girls are always complaining about being cold."

I leaned forward in my seat, "And do you have a problem with that, _Pari_?" I hissed.

Robb guffawed loudly from the driver's seat, "Don't push it Dustin, you might have just insulted Mercedes back there, especially if she calling you by your last name."

"I don't have a problem with girls being cold, I was just saying that it seems to be a trait that is common within all of them. No disrespect intended," Dustin said semi-seriously as he turned around in his seat and looked back at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I knew exactly why that look was in place.

_

* * *

_"_Just take the jacket, babe." He said slowly. _

_I watched from the corner of my eye as he reached into the van and pulled out a lump of cloth. His eyes then tired to burrow into mine which, as usual, my entire body to feel as though it was on fire. I hated how his gaze was always so intense. It virtually almost left me weak in the knees afterwards._

"_Fine," I whispered._

"_What was that?" he brought a hand to his ear as if he couldn't hear me._

_I growled again, "Don't push it, Pari."_

"_You're endearing when you're angry." Dustin said arbitrarily with a tinge of sarcasm laced in. "And I like it when you call me 'Pari'. It's cute."_

"_I do it when I'm pissed at you." I reminded him, raising an eyebrow._

_Dustin chuckled, "And again, you're cute when you're mad so it all works out."_

* * *

It still confused me on how he could find me adorable when I was angry. It didn't make any sense to me. But, I decided not to question it or bring it up against—especially since Robb was with us now. The most ironic thing was that I was wearing the jacket that we had been arguing about in the first place, was on my body at that very moment. I didn't care if it was too big for me, I didn't care if I looked ridiculous in it either. The only thing that mattered was that it was warm, smelled absolutely amazing and was Dustin's.

Sometime during my thought process, Dustin had turned back around in his seat and the van had turned silent, meaning Dustin had turned off the radio. That was a sure sign that filming was about to begin. I dug out my laptop case to grab my case files out and placed them in my lap. Just then Robb pulled out his walkie—signalling that we were up and rolling.

"Okay guys, so we're back in Ireland. Everyone excited about that?" Robb said into the mic.

Barry's voice answered, "Of course. It's amazing to be here in Northern Ireland, I live here you know." He told us with a chuckle.

Robb laughed for a while before he sobered, "Well I heard that the case that we are going on tonight is supposed to be pretty good. Mercedes, why don't you give us all the details? I know you've been keeping this case a surprise so I'm sure everyone is anxious to see what we're in for."

I grabbed my own personal walkie and turned it on, "Hey guys, the place that we are investigating tonight is called the Rathlin Manor House and is located on Rathlin Island which is about six miles off the coast of Northern Ireland. It's very small, only about four miles wide and not very inhabited either. There are only a little over a hundred people living currently on the island." I explained.

Dustin grunted from the front seat, "Sounds interesting so far. It even has its own island."

I giggled slightly at his comment but started to continue nonetheless. I was actually very proud of myself because despite the busy week we had had, I still did my 'homework' on the case. I had literally gone to town researching the history of the island so I had a lot to tell the team. The island actually did have a really interesting history so I knew I wouldn't be boring anyone by telling them what I was about to actually tell them.

"The island itself has a really dark past and they think that this could either be the cause of the paranormal activity all over the island or it has at least helped to stir it up. Rathlin was the site of the first Viking raid on Ireland in about 795. The Vikings ended up the looting the island's church and then burnt down all of its buildings. The island was the site of an infamous massacre in July 1575. Hundreds were murdered including the women and children of Clan MacDonnell, who were refuge there at the time. There was a second massacre in 1642 when Covenanter Campbell soldiers of the Argyll's Foot were encouraged by their commanding officer to kill the local Catholic MacDonald's. During this massacre the soldiers ruthlessly threw many of the MacDonald women over the high cliffs where they would plummet to their deaths on rocks below. The number of victims of this massacre has been put as low as one hundred and as high as three thousand."

"That's just plain cruel," Joe's voice spoke venomously over the walkie. "How would they do that to the woman?" It was a rhetorical question so I knew I didn't have to actually answer it.

"Now to get to the actual island itself, we are going to have to take a water taxi…" I said with a grin.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Robb interrupted.

I looked out the front window of the van and realized that we just pulled right up to the docks. There was a large black and white boat that was in the water near the docks with a large ramp that lead onto it. The ramp was obviously used to guide the vehicles onto the boat to carry them over to the island.

"Wow that was good timing, Mercedes." Dustin said.

It took about ten minutes to get all three vans loaded safely onto the stern of the boats. Once all the vehicles were intact, the cameramen got straight to work, getting their cameras out and started to film already. As much as I wanted to say that it annoyed me, it didn't. I knew that it was just their job and it definitely made the show more interesting if it showed more things that they did besides the investigation itself.

While the cameramen went to town filming literally everything in sight, the rest of us went over to the sides of the boat, looking out onto the open water. Everyone kind of went their own ways, looking at different spots or talking to crew members. I made my way over to the point right in the middle of the bow and stern and planted myself there. For a short moment, I fleetingly glanced up towards the bow of the boat and thought about the classic movie _Titanic_, when Jack and Rose stood up on the edge and held their wings out and it literally looked like they were flying. I had been on a few cruises in my life but I had never had the chance to do that before. More than anything, I wanted to stand at the edge of the bow and see if I could experience the same thing—to be able to feel as though I were flying over the water.

"What are you thinking about?" Barry asked me, interrupting my thoughts.

I jumped slightly because I hadn't even known he was there, "Oh uh—well I was just lost in my thoughts you know?" I told him.

Barry nodded, "Right, of course. And what were you so lost in thought about?" he asked me kindly.

I knew Barry was a sensible man and he wouldn't laugh about my little fantasy so I decided to tell him, "Well have you ever watched the movie _Titanic_? The tragic love story between Jack and Rose?"

Barry nodded, "I might have seen it once or twice, why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Well, I was thinking about a particular scene in the movie where Jack and Rose meet at the bow of the boat and stand up on the railing and hold their hands out and it was if they were flying over the water. I always thought that that would be an amazing experience but I myself have never experienced it before." I explained.

He chuckled lightly in response, "It sounds like a very exhilarating dream to have." He said. "But, you would probably worry a few of the crew if you stood up on the railing and then leaned over the bow of the boat."

"Of course it would. Which is why I'm not going to even attempt to do it, but I still think it would be pretty cool to do."

"That it would."

We then lapsed into a comfortable silence as the boat began to travel towards the island. Settling ourselves against the railing of the boat, we both silently looked out onto the open sea, taking in the beauty of the vast ocean. Despite the fact that I had gone boating many times in the past, the beauty of the ocean never ceased to amazing me.

Once we got about a half a mile away from the shore, the current started getting stronger and the boat began to rock back and force against the force of the salty sea waves. The waves continued to hit the vessel harder and harder until the spray that came from them began to spill onto the sides of the boat as well. Barry and I decided to remove ourselves from standing near the railing so we didn't get slapped in the face by a wall of water as a wave would hit the side of the boat.

"So what does Rathlin Island have on it? I did tons of research about the history of the place, but during that time I never really came across much of what it is now other than the population of the place." I asked Barry.

Barry thought for a moment before he spoke, "Well, if I remember correctly the island comes complete with a pub, an inn, a few churches, sheep, cows, seals and puffins."

"And that's it?" I questioned, scrunching my brow slightly.

Barry nodded, "Sadly, that's about it."

"What's it?" Dustin's voice came from behind us.

It seemed that he had finished his exploration of the boat and had apparently decided to join Barry and I in standing away from the edge of the boat to avoid the sprays of water. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking at me with a lazy grin on his face and his 1980's black sunglasses in place.

"Mercedes asked what there was to do on the island and I told her that the island comes complete with a pub, an inn, a few churches, sheep, cows, seals and puffins." Barry answered.

"Puffins?" Dustin asked, "Aren't they those birds that look like penguin and a toucan's baby?" he commented. Dustin then rubbed his jaw in thought and smirked largely, "Or, if you'd rather like a crude reference of cartoon characters from the 80's and cereal mascots, you would always picture it as if _Chilly Willy_ dipped his own 'willy' into someone's' _Froot Loops_."

Barry sniggered immediately getting the joke while it took me a little longer. When I finally realized what it was that Dustin had said, I smacked his arm in disgust, "Dustin that was absolutely horrible! I can't believe you just said that!"

Dustin shrugged and looked at Barry, "Hey, I may be thirty-one years old but I'm still a guy."

The rest of the boat ride, Barry, Dustin and I spent conversing about the island and the Manor House itself. I also clued them in one some more of the claims that had been stated in the email that the owner had sent to us. Before we knew it, the boat was finally coming to a slow and the three of us wandered over to a nearly dripping wet Robb, Aisha and Joe. Apparently, they had spent the entire trip standing near the sides of the boat.

Was the boat stopped and the ramp was lowered, Robb, Barry and Will went to drive the three vans off the boat while the rest of us waited on the dock.

"You guys all ready?" Robb asked as he lowered his window and called out to us from inside the van.

Everyone nodded in agreement so we all climbed into our respectful vans and started the short five minute drive to the Manor House. The Manor House was quite large and was two stories tall. It was used as a bed and breakfast yet had very good claims of paranormal activity. The staff had cleared all reservations in order for us to have complete run of the place while we would be investigating. This made things a hell of a lot easier for us because we wouldn't have to worry as much about human contamination to our evidence or worrying about disturbing the other guests with our late night investigation. We decided to check into our rooms after the investigation was completely over so we would just temporarily leave all of our luggage in the vans.

Once we came to a stop, the first thing I decided to go was get my heavier jacket from my suitcase. I hadn't been able to reach it during the drive down so that's why I'd had to borrow Dustin's sweatshirt. I pulled out my long black trench coat and smiled, "Hello warmth." I said happily. Dustin, who had apparently followed me to the back of the van, chuckled at me. "Oh hey! Do you want your sweatshirt back?" I asked, getting ready to pull the sweatshirt off.

Dustin shook his head, "No that's alright. I was actually going to grab my GHI sweatshirt from inside my suitcase. You keep my EMT sweatshirt, it looks good on you."

I grinned and pulled my trench coat on over Dustin's sweatshirt and buttoned it up. The jacket seemed a little more bulky that normal with the added sweatshirt on under it but it made it all the warmer. Dustin quickly grabbed him GHI hoodie, put it on and then placed his heavy jacket on over it. He then told me a quick verbal goodbye before walking over to Barry and Robb to start the tour. I leaned against the van and began to put away my suitcase.

"Mercedes?" Aisha called out as she started walking towards Dustin and I.

"Yeah?"

Aisha looked slightly guilty before she answered, "You wouldn't happen to have another warm jacket in there would you?" she asked. "All I have is my lightweight pea coat and I'm freezing my ass off right now."

I felt bad as I took in her shivering form. Aisha was dressed in a pair of jeans, a thin yellow long sleeve shirt and a pair of matching yellow flats. I then looked down at my outfit and noticed the differences. I was pressed in jeans and flats as well but I also had on a long sleeved blue shirt as well as Dustin's EMT hoodie and my own trench coat. I knew that I couldn't just let my best friend freeze so I turned to my suitcase and began rummaging around.

"I know I packed my plaid trench…" I muttered to myself under my breath, "It has to be around here—Ah ha!" I exclaimed as I pulled a long plaid trench coat from my suitcase.

Aisha jumped up and hugged me tightly before she all but ripped the jacket from my hands and put it on, "Oh my god, thank you Mercedes! If you weren't _already_ my best friend, I'd promote you to be my best friend for doing this for me."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop from laughing at her ridiculous statement.

"What's so funny?" Joe asked as he ambled over to us.

"It's just Aisha. She's just being her ridiculous self." I teased, elbowing Aisha lightly in her side playfully.

Joe's eyes narrowed at the two of us in a playful manner, "Somehow, I actually believe that." He said with a serious face.

"So, what is there to do tonight? We got most of the equipment ready to go on the ferry ride when we weren't messing around so…" I trailed off.

Joe shrugged and looked around, "Honestly, I have no idea what we can do. Like you said, all the equipment is ready to go, it just needs to get set up but we can't do that until the tour is over. I guess we'll just have to wait."

Aisha scowled, "I hate waiting." She huffed in impatience.

I place my hand on her shoulder, "Me too, me too."

* * *

The tours of the places that we were investigations varied from place to place. Of course I had only been on two investigations so I didn't know this information until Joe told Aisha and I this himself. Several things came into play during a tour: the size of the house, the talking speed of the tour giver, the amount of information the client gave and the number of hot shots located within a location. Joe did tell us that a tour usually lasted anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes. Luckily for us, the Manor House was one of the shorter tours and was completed in about twenty minutes. In the meantime, Joe had found a pack of cards in one of the vans and I we had started playing blackjack and rummy while waiting on Robb, Barry and Dustin to return.

Once they did, it was time for set up. It was starting to get easier. Everyone had something to do whether it was setting up cameras or computers, taping down wires and cords, loading up the audio recorders and mini-DV's or checking to make sure all the equipment was ready to go. As long as everyone had a job to do, things ran smoothly and efficiently and set up would be completed in just a few short hours. The cameras were what made setup difficult. It took so much time and effort to get each shot and angle perfect—but I could definitely understand the significance of that feat.

When everything was finally finished and completed it was around 8pm—twilight. Everyone was gathered at central command waiting for Barry to return from fixing a minor camera glitch. Robb was radioing Barry while standing near the screens, Aisha and Joe were standing off to the side, watching silently while Dustin and I were standing opposite of them, also watching silently.

It was only a few minutes later that Barry returned, wiping the invisible sweat from his brow and grinning like a mad man, "Now, let's look at these lovely angles, shall we?" he gestured.

Everyone gathered around the computer screen and Barry, waiting for him to point out the angles, not only for us but for the viewers as well.

"The first camera is located at the top of the stairs, looking down obviously to see if we catch the reports of the child walking up the stairs with a candle. Camera number two is in the dining area where that same child has also been seen." Barry explained.

As he spoke, I suddenly felt a small tingle on my spine through my jacket. It was faint, but I could feel it just barely there. I shivered slightly and heard a soft chuckle from behind me. '_Dustin_!' I thought accusingly. Now that I really thought about it, the tingle actually felt like fingertips against my back.

The tingles continued as Barry told us the other two camera angles, one in one of the hallways and the other in one of the bedrooms. I tried my hardest to listen as Barry prattled on—I really did. I also tried not to make any sudden movements or sounds to give Dustin away. Since the cameras were filming us, it made it even more necessary to not give anything away.

"Alright!" Robb exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "They all look great so the first thing to be done is to the get the lights out and then we'll meet back here to split into teams for the night. I think what we'll do is have switch only twice tonight since the place isn't that big. We can all investigate, but be careful when investigating to not contaminate the other's evidence. Sound good?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's rock!" Dustin said in his typical fashion.

Everyone laughed at the true '_Dustin-ness_' of the comment and then began to split up for lights out. I started down one of the hallways and felt Dustin following behind me, "Keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Rockstar." I whispered back to him as I walked.

"Personally, I thought it was funny watching you squirm." Dustin replied back, also in a whisper.

I stopped in the middle of the dark hallway, causing him to run into me. I turned and looked at him seriously, "We need to be professional, especially when investigating. It may be hard for us—especially you—but we need to try. We're here to investigate and try and help the client. Not run into each other in dark places and make out." I said, exaggerating.

Dustin frowned, "Okay, that was an exaggeration Mercedes, we're never done that. We've never even kissed on an investigation yet."

I sighed, "That's the keyword, 'yet'! Sooner or later one thing will lead to another and we will. Promise me that you'll act professional tonight. No more games."

The seriousness in my voice seemed to sober him up. "You're right, what were we thinking." The tone of his voice made me wonder if he was mentally smacking himself in the forehead, "We'll be professional tonight, Babe. I promise."

I held up my hand, "That's Mercedes to you now." I reminded him.

"Right." He replied. "Sorry, I don't even realize I do it sometimes."

"I know."

"Come on," Dustin said. "We have lights to be shutting off."

* * *

"Alright, teams for tonight will be a little different. Barry and Dustin, Joe and myself and Aisha and Mercedes, do you think you two can handle investigating together tonight?" he teased with a genuine smile.

Aisha and I grinned over and each other and linked our arms together.

"Of course we can." Aisha chimed.

Robb nodded, "Well that's good to hear then." He told us with a small wink before started to instruct us further, "Now I want everyone to try and split up as much as possible. Again, we don't want any human contamination if it can be helped so be careful."

After Robb finished speaking, it was time for everyone to split up and take a section of the place to investigate. Aisha and I decided to go sit in a couple of the rooms and try and get a feel for the place. We chose room number six, the place where an exorcism had taken place nearly a hundred years ago. We brought with us our walkie—in case someone on the team needed one of us—a mini DV, an audio recorder and an EMF detector. We were all set.

The four of us made our way to Suite Six. (And by four I meant Aisha and myself plus Jim and Zach, the cameramen.) The room that we entered was pretty small. It was white and tan with a double sized bed in the middle of the room and a creamy white couch at the other end. There was a private bathroom as well as a decent sized closet with a small chest of drawers in it as well. All in all, the room was nice and quaint and had one of those little small town charms to it.

We knew that the first thing to do when investigating a room was to just sit in the room and get a feel for the place. It was something that we had used to do when investigating in Whitefield all the time. We would spend the first ten to twenty minutes sitting in the room on a couch or a bed or even on the floor just chatting to each other and taking in the room. After that time period was up and we felt like we had been in the room for a while, we would start an EVP session and usually spend anywhere between forty-five minutes to an hour and a half—sometimes longer—doing EVP work. It usually depended on the house. If we weren't getting any response or activity, we usually held short session. But if we were getting larger activity, we held longer session. At the moment though, we were just going to sit down and get a feel for the suite first though.

"Isn't it exciting to be investigating together again?" Aisha asked me happily as she plopped down on the creamy colored couch.

I took a seat next to her and grinned, "Yeah it actually is. I feel like I haven't investigated with you in years when it's only been a month or so since our last investigation together in Whitefield." I replied.

Aisha put her finger to her chin and looked as though she was deep in thought, "What _was _the last case we went on. Is it sad that I can't even remember what it was?" she asked me with a guilty smile.

I shook my head, "It's not sad but the last case was…." I trailed off when even _I_ couldn't remember what it was. I looked at Aisha in confusion mixed with surprise, "Damn, what was the last case? I don't remember either!" I exclaimed.

Aisha grabbed one of the pillows from the couch next to her and put her face into it and started mumbling and giggling into it. If I didn't know her the way that I did, I probably would have been a little worried about her sanity. But I knew exactly what she was doing so I didn't even bother stopping her. The pillow trick was something that she did whenever she was trying to either think of something, forget something or relieve some stress.

She sat there for nearly ten minutes before Zach finally peaked out from behind his camera, "Is she going to be okay? She's had that pillow over her face for a while now." He asked.

Jim shook his head at the younger cameraman, "She'll be fine. It's a technique that is usually used when trying to remember something or relieving stress. I've even done it myself a few times, son." He told him as he clapped a large hand on Zach's shoulder.

The difference between Zach and Jim was quite comical. Zach was young, pale and a little on the scrawny side with dirty blond hair, light blue eyes and a sharp jaw line. If I wasn't with Dustin, I probably would have thought Zach was pretty cute but in the short time I had known him, I had come to think of him like a brother. He was kind of like Ayden, only less annoying. Jim on the other hand was tall, built very muscular and dark skinned. He was either in his fifties and carried a fatherly air around with him.

Suddenly, Aisha sat up and spoke, "I remember!" she shouted.

I looked at her and shushed her, "You don't have to yell, Aish!" I hissed. "But who was it?" I asked anxiously in a slightly demanding voice.

I hated not knowing something. It was one of the things that annoyed me above all else. When something was just at the tip of your tongue yet you couldn't get it exactly right—I sometimes go so frustrated with myself that I'd have to hit something. And by something, I didn't mean people or anything dangerous. In our apartment, Aisha and I had installed a little punching bag to use whenever we were stressed or frustrated with something. It actually helped relieve a lot of tension and aggravation plus it was good exercise.

When Aisha spoke, she spoke quickly like she always did when she was excited, "It was the Morrison case! The one where they had been experiencing activity since they had moved into the house three years prior but for some reason their activity was getting stronger and more noticeable. Those were some of the best EVPs we ever caught!"

I thought back to the Morrison case, it had been a husband and a wife living with their three kids who aged in range from seven to fourteen. Each of them had experienced paranormal activity while in the house. During the investigation we had heard a lot of bangs, knocks on the walls and had experienced voice phenomena with our own ears. Later when we had reviewed our evidence, we had caught all the voice phenomena that we had heard out loud, as well as a ton more EVPs. It had been one of the most active cases that we had ever been on and was definitely a place we would check out again if given the chance by Randy and Tina Morrison. During the investigation, Aisha and I had become friends with Randy and Tina as well as their two younger daughters, seven year old Katie and ten year old Erin and their slightly older son, fourteen year old Justin.

"I remember that." I said. "I actually wonder how things have been holding up since we last investigated there." I mused.

Aisha shrugged, "Well I'm assuming that everything is going okay since they haven't called us yet. But, maybe when we get back to the States we can call them up and see how everything is going?" she suggested.

"You know, that'd actually be a very good idea. I've missed them actually. We got really close during that particular investigation."

She nodded, "Yeah, we definitely did."

We were silent for a while before I asked Aisha if she wanted to go ahead and start an EVP session since we had been in the room for a while. Aisha didn't have a problem with this so I took out the recorder and turned it on. "This is an EVP session with Mercedes and Aisha in suite six—the room where the exorcism was held." I said into the recorder.

"Do you want to go to the usual ritual?" Aisha asked me.

I thought for a moment before I nodded, "I don't think it would hurt."

"So, floor or bed?" she questioned.

"Uh, bed." I replied.

Aisha and I got up off the couch and settled on the bed sitting Indian Style. Aisha sat on one side while I sat on the other. We placed the audio recorder in the middle of both of us and closed our eyes as we started to breathe in deeply, clearing every excess thought from our minds. It helped focus and work better when doing an EVP session. It was a little calming ritual we had used back in Whitefield during EVP sessions. It didn't always get us better results, but it did help us relax and get more into the investigation.

"Hello, my name is Mercedes Culvert and sitting across from me is my best friend, Aisha Aguilar. We are from the United States but are visiting your island to try and contact you. We are just here to talk to you—we mean you no harm or disrespect. If you can hear and understand us, we ask that you come forward and let us know." I said in a calm, steady voice.

Aisha picked up where I had left off, "Could you please give us your name? It will make it easier for us to communicate with you if we know your name. Are there others here with you? If so, could you please tell us their names as well." She requested.

For the first time since I had started the EVP session, I opened my eyes and scanned across the room, "Please do not be afraid of us. We cannot see you and even if we could, we don't want to hurt you in any way."

"Talking is the only thing that we have come here to do. We also don't mean to intrude in your space. If you want us to leave, we will do so but you need to let us know if we are not welcome in your house." Aisha said firmly as she too looked around the room.

For the next fifteen minutes Aisha and I took turns asking the routine questions but weren't getting any response so we decided to get into more serious questions. "Why have you returned?" I asked. "There was an exorcism preformed on the house that was supposed to banish all of you but now you have returned. Is it because the exorcism has been broken?" I questioned.

"You have been scaring some of the guests that stay here during the nights. Some have said that you have pulled at their feet or have been watching them in the middle of the night. Why are you doing that?"

"Do you get some kind of pleasure out of scaring people?" I hissed, "Because if you do, that's just rude."

Aisha decided to take it to the next level, "Why don't you try and scare us then? We don't scare easily and we're definitely not scared of _you_. So come on. You can push us, slap us, anything. _Show us that you are here_!" she commanded in a solid voice.

"You're being a coward. You can stalk the unconscious but when two women sit here and ask you to fight back, you cower away. You're just a bully." I said.

A soon as I had spoke, out of the corner of my eye something caught my attention. Before I could even think about stopping myself, the cliché words fell from my mouth:

"_What the hell was that_!?"

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**So, what do you think? :) Reviews are always appriciated!**


	17. SC: Part 10 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Well folks, we're nearing the end of the line for _'Skeleton In The Closet_'. Only one more chapter left after this one. I do want to apologize for not continuing. I've truly come to love these characters, their personalities and just the whole writing process as I have come to enjoy reading your reviews, but I simply don't have the time to write this like I used to. I mean it's sad when you come home from school at 3:15pm and don't move from your spot until 9:30pm while working on a project for school two nights in a row. It's pathetic really, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. Right? Anyways, I REALLY hope you enjoy this chapter, it isn't as long as the others and I really hope you don't hate me for the ending. I promise I'll get the next one out sooner than I did this one! But, anyways, I hope you enjoy :)_

_- RIP._

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_Jaded _

- by -

Aerosmith

(**_You'll understand as you read. _**

**_I must say, sometimes my music inspires my work_**.)

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 10 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

**- **_**Rathlin Island, N. Ireland 2009**_** -**

"_You're being a coward. You can stalk the unconscious but when two women sit here and ask you to fight back, you cower away. You're just a bully." I said._

_A soon as I had spoke, out of the corner of my eye something caught my attention. Before I could even think about stopping myself, the cliché words fell from my mouth: _

"_What the hell was that_!?"

* * *

"What was what?" Aisha asked me in a worried voice.

I couldn't move, I was frozen in place and by the time I was actually able to move my mouth to tell Aisha exactly what it was, it had disappeared. In the very corner of the room, out of my peripheral vision I had seen a full figured shadow. It was completely solid and such a dark, inky black that there was absolutely no mistake in seeing it. It was tall—nearly six foot, maybe even more—and looked clearly male. The shock of actually seeing the figure had rendered my completely speechless so by the time I was able to even speak to Aisha to tell her what it was that I had seen because it had literally disappeared into thin air.

"It was a figure…" I said, starting out slowly and then talking faster, "It was black, so black that there wasn't any mistaking it. It was tall and looked masculine to me so I'm assuming it was the shadow of a man. I mean, the height gave it away but there are also tall women out there as well but—" I was starting to ramble and I knew it.

Aisha cut me off, "Are you serious? And did it just disappear?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah when I saw it, I just froze and by the time I was able to speak to you, it was completely gone." I explained.

Aisha's eyes literally grew the size of saucers by the time I had finished speaking, "Wow, wow, wow!" she said over and over again. "That's freakin' awesome!"

"I know," I said in a small whisper. I couldn't really manage to say much else, I was still shocked. It had been a long time since I had been on a case where I had actually seen something with my own two eyes.

Aisha moved to where she was sitting on her knees, "Was that you that just showed yourself to Mercedes? Could you please come back? I want to see you as well."

The next fifteen minutes passed by in what seemed like seconds. We both sat on the bed continuing our EVP session. As it drew on, we switched from provoking to just trying to talk to them, to pleading and then back to provoking. We even experimented again, trying to get them to relate to us. But after seeing the one shadow, nothing else was happened. We decided that the best thing to do was radio one of the other teams and have them come in and see if they could experience the same thing. I decided to radio Dustin and Barry.

I turned on the walkie and spoke into it, "Dustin, Barry?"

I waited a few minutes for them to reply. It didn't take long before I heard Barry's voice answer me. "_Yes_ _Mercedes_?"

"Barry we'd like to ask a favor of you and Dustin. Aisha and I are investigating in room six. We've been in here for a while conducting an EVP session but haven't been getting much of anything other than a shadow. The shadow was dark and really solid so there was no mistaking it but we haven't been able to get it to happen again." I explained. "Do you and Dustin want to switch with us? We'd like to see if you experience the same thing." I asked him.

Within seconds I got a response, "_Dustin and I will be there in a few minutes_."

After I turned off the walkie, I ended the EVP session before Aisha and I started to gather up our stuff. Jim and Zach turned off their camera's and told Aisha and I they were going to go out to the vans to get some water while we waited for Dustin and Barry. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long for the guys to get to room six.

"What exactly was it that you saw?" Barry asked as he entered the room with his full spectrum camera.

I quickly explained to him and Dustin exactly what I had seen from in the corner of the room. They were both excited about the prospect of possibly capturing that on film so Barry set up his camera facing into the corner where the shadow had been spotted before he and Dustin made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"Well, it looks like you guys have everything set up in here. I think Aisha and I are going to check out the dining room. Do you know if anyone is in there?" I asked, wanting to double check in case we would intrude on Robb and Joe.

Dustin shook his head, "Not that we know of. Robb and Joe are investigating room one and we just came from room four so there shouldn't be anyone in there."

Aisha grinned before giving a tiny wave goodbye, "Alright, well we'll see you boys later. We have to go track down Jim and Zach again." She said with a small giggle.

Leaving room six wasn't an easy feat. The hallways were pitch dark so Aisha and I had to use our IR lights from the mini-DV's to make our way down the long corridor. Whenever you walked down a hallway in the dark, the blackness created an illusion of the hall being much longer than it actually was. It was just a trick of the eyes but it was still creepy. Walking down the Manor House corridors gave you that feeling. It wasn't necessarily the creepy feeling I had felt in the Wicklow's Gaol corridors but it was a creepy feeling nonetheless.

It wasn't too long before Aisha interrupted my thoughts, "Is it just me, or do hallways always seem to give you the creeps?" she said, semi-nervously.

"It's not just you." I muttered back.

Aisha stopped and squinted into the darkness before shining her IR around to get a better look of the hallway, "This place makes me think of a hospital. The whiteness of the walls combined with the long hallways with rooms everywhere and the chills running up my spine just screams insane asylum."

Her words caused me to laugh rather than be terrified, "Aisha I'm promise you, we're in a hotel—not a mental hospital!" I told her reassuringly as I gave her a friendly pat on the arm.

"I wasn't saying that we were!" she countered with a serious look on her face. "I just meant that it reminds me of one."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure the owners would just love to hear that."

After that little incident, we continued down the long hallway and walked out the front exit towards the vans. It was still pitch black but we saw a dim light in one of the vans so we made our way over there, hoping to find Jim and Zach. Sure enough they were sitting on the edge of the van, cleaning the lenses of one of the cameras and while drinking from their water bottles.

"Come on boys!" I called out cheerfully. "We're headed for the dining room."

Zach grinned and rubbed his stomach, "Really? Do you think there is any food in there? I'm fucking starving!" he exclaimed.

Jim frowned, "Zach, we can't steal food from the hotel. That's just plain wrong. Besides, you should have eaten more at dinner and you wouldn't be hungry now."

"I did eat!" Zach protested with a slight pout forming on his lips.

Jim held up his hand in Zach's face, blocking his view, "Don't even try that with me, kid. I have five children at home. I'm immune to the pout."

Aisha and I looked at each other and exchanged twin grins. Watching Jim and Zach interact was just plain side-splitting. It reminded me of Steve and Tango's banters from Ghost _Hunters_.

"Come on guys, we should get inside. It's freezing out here." Aisha said, wrapping her arms around her and shivering to make her point.

She was right, being _inside_ the hotel for as long as we had been had made me forget how cold it was _outside_ the hotel. It didn't help that it was nearing midnight so the temperature had dropped even more since we had last been outside. I was cold, so I could only imagine how Aisha felt. At least I had Dustin's sweatshirt on underneath my coat. Aisha only had her long sleeved t-shirt on under the coat I had let her borrow.

Jim nodded and finally stood up, "Okay, let's get you two inside before you turn into popsicles. Come on scrawny." He said as he turned back to Zach who was still sitting in the van, taking his own sweet time getting his stuff together.

"I'm not scrawny!" Zach called out as we started to walk back towards the Manor House.

Aisha and I shared a quick look before we yelled back over our shoulders, "Yes you are!"

Nearly two hours later, while resting her forehand against the table in the dining room, Aisha spoke, "Maybe it's me but I don't think the paranormal beings in this hotel like us." She said in a slightly whiny voice.

"And why is that?" I asked in a jaded tone.

Aisha sighed and lifted her head off the table, "Because we've been in this room for nearly two hours doing an EVP session and we haven't gotten anything. No sounds, no creepy chills, no knocks or bangs, no shadows—absolutely nothing." She listed off with her fingers.

I nodded and silently told her to continue.

"I'm not one to get gripe-y during an investigation or even get tired but I'm ready for some real action and whatever is here seems to be hiding from us. I think we've tried everything in the book, Mercedes. Whatever is here won't come out." She told me as she groaned. "If there is anything here…" she muttered under her breath only loud enough for me to hear.

"I agree." I replied. "It's actually pretty boring around here right now. It's so silent and jaded." As soon as I said the word 'jaded', a song popped into my head and before I could stop myself I was singing to myself. "_Hey J-J-Jaded, In all its misery it will always be what I love and hated and maybe take a ride to the other side we're thinkin' of_." I sang in a silly voice.

Aisha giggled and sang with me, "_We'll slip into the velvet glove and be Jaded_!"

We then continued together, "_My, my, baby blue. Yeah I've been thinkin' about you. My, my, baby blue. Yeah, you're so Jaded and I'm the one that Jaded you_."

When we finished the chorus of '_Jaded'_by Aerosmith, we looked up to see both Zach and Jim staring at us with raised eyebrows. Jim scratched his balding head and stared at us strangely, "You know, in the entire time I have worked for GHI, I have never heard any of them burst into song during an investigation." He said.

Aisha gave him a Cheshire smile, "You probably haven't, but then again you've never worked with both of us before—have you?" she said.

Jim nodded, "You have a point."

"_Mercedes, Aisha. I think it's time to head back to central and switch up the teams_." Robb's voice said over the walkie.

I looked at Aisha, "Oh and we were having so much fun together." I said sarcastically with a pout. She giggled as I spoke into the walkie, "Alright Robb, we'll be there in a few."

Aisha and I gathered up our things before we returned to command central while Zach and Jim once again returned to the vans. As soon as I saw Barry and Dustin, I anxiously asked them if anything had happened to them while in room six. I wanted to know if they had seen the same shadow as I had.

"You know, we actually did see and hear some strange activity in that room. We did indeed see a shadow and there was a strange musty smell that appeared and then disappeared as quickly as it came." Barry told me. "It was a very bizarre experience."

"Did you two experience anything in the dining room?" Dustin asked, looking between Aisha and I.

Aisha and I exchanged a swift glance, "Absolutely nothing." Aisha replied.

"Well, nothing other than boredom, silence and a singing session between Aisha and I towards the end of our EVP session." I said with a small laugh.

"Singing session?" Dustin asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head, "Don't ask." I told him with a grin.

Dustin held up his hands, "I think I'm going to let you keep that between the two of you." He said with a wink.

Robb and Joe entered the room and set their equipment, "How did everyone's investigations go so far?" he asked, just wanting to check in. Everyone muttered responses, some good and others bad. "Good, good. Joe and I did witness this peculiar mist that came in front of the camera while we were going an EVP session so make a note of that. It was in room one." He told us. "Well I think it's about time we switch things up a bit. It's about 2am so we'll probably finish up around 4am, maybe 3:30am if we aren't getting much and then we'll assign rooms for the night." he finished.

"Sounds like a plan." Aisha acknowledged. "What are the new teams?" she asked anxiously.

"How about Dustin and myself, Aisha and Barry and then Mercedes and Joe." Robb rattled off.

I turned to Joe, "Ready Joe?" I told him with a large grin. I loved working with Joe, he always found some way to make me laugh whether it was when we were all hanging out as a group or during an investigation.

Joe returned my smile full force, "Ready Freddy." He said.

Joe and I decided to investigate room three, since no one had really been in there during the night. We spent a while getting a feel for the room like always before we decided to begin our EVP session.

"This is Joe and Mercedes investigating in room three." I said before I placed the audio recorder on the vanity in the room.

Joe took a seat in the chair next to the vanity while I sat down on the bed. "We want to talk to any spirit here that would like to communicate with us." Joe said. "Would you please show yourself and show us a sign that you understand what it is that we are trying to accomplish?" he requested. Joe then took out our EMF detector and placed it on the vanity with the audio recorder, "We have two devices here that will help us correspond to you. The first one, the white box is called an EMF detector. If you wave your hand in front of it, it will make a sound that lets us know that you are in the room with us." He explained slowly.

"The second devise is called an audio recorder," I continued where Joe paused. "It will record your voice so that we can hear it later. If you would wish to speak with us, please speak into the devise now." I instructed. "It is very important that you do so." I added after a few moments.

"Neither devise will be able to harm you." Joe said. "So please, do not shy away from us or our equipment. We understand that you may not be able to understand what they are or what they are used for. We also understand that they may look very odd and foreign to you but we do promise that they will not do a thing to mar you. Others like just like yourself have used them in the past. We find it an easy way to learn more about you."

"We have some questions for you," I said. "Would you be so kind as to answer them for us?" I waited a few moments before I started asking my list of mental questions that I had built up in my head, "What is your name?" Pause. "How old are you or how long have you resided here in the Manor House?" Pause. "What year is it?" Pause. "Is there more than one of you here?"

Joe and I sat in silence for a while, waiting to see if anything would show itself. It didn't.

"Do you care that we are invading your space here?" I was now trying to see if I could provoke the spirit. "What would you do if I made myself comfortable here on your bed? Others have seen you in the past—now I want to see you. Will you please show yourself to me?" I asked in a firm voice.

Suddenly, I heard a very faint sound come from my left ear. I turned my head but saw absolutely nothing there.

"What is it?" Joe asked, wondering why I had reacted the way I had.

I frowned, looking around again. "I heard something. It was very, very faint but was soft and higher pitched." I told him.

Joe smiled, "Well isn't that something." He mused. "What do you think it was?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea. It sounded almost like a woman's voice, maybe like a sigh or something. Again, it was very faint so I could have heard wrong."

"Mercedes thinks that she heard you talking to her but she couldn't be sure. Can you please try and speak with her again?" Joe asked.

As soon as he spoke, I heard the sound again out of my left ear, "Joe it did it again. It definitely sounds like a woman sighing."

"How odd." Joe commented.

"Are you hearing any of this?" I asked him curiously.

He shook his head, "No, not a thing."

I frowned, "That is strange. It sounded both times as if it's right next to me."

Joe looked like he was about to reply when Robb's voice came over the walkie-talkie that was in his hand, "_Okay, it's about that time. I think it's time that we pack up and call it a night guys_."

I looked a Joe in confusion, "Has it been two hours already?" I asked him.

Joe looked at his watch before he answered me, "No, it's only about 3:15. I guess Robb just decided to end this investigation early."

I climbed off the bed and adjusted my coat, "That's fine with me. I'm actually getting kind of tired." I told him with a yawn.

Clean up took the same amount of time as it usually did. We turned all the lights back on and began to disconnect all the cables and cords from the cameras before taking them all back to central command to be put back into their respectable cases. I was on the staircase removing the cables from the camera positioned up there when Dustin joined me with a crate to put all the excess cords in. He surprised me by giving me a quick peck on the cheek before he took the wires from my hands, "Let me get that for you, okay Babe?" he said sweetly.

I stood back and watched as he rolled up the cord and then placed it neatly in the crate he had carried up with him. I put my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes, "What did we agree on earlier? I thought we were going to be professional during the investigations. No kissing or nicknames or any of that." I told him.

Dustin smirked at me, "The investigations over now, Baby." He said lightheartedly before he kissed my forehead and started to make his way back down the stairs.

I sighed, "Smartass."

"I heard that!" he called up the stairs.

I grinned before following him down, "I'm sure you did."

* * *

Relaxation seemed to be a glorious thing indeed. The entire day following the investigation of the Manor House was filled with the splendid action commonly referred to as sleep and reading for me. I got caught up in the heartbreakingly beautiful tale of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. In other words, I was reading _The Time Travelers Wife_. The movie was coming out in August and I couldn't wait to see it when I returned to the States. I barely even left my room expect to grab a bite to eat when my stomach started to protest from hunger.

I paused my book about half way through to get at least some of my responsibilities done. I checked the email that Robb had clued me in on to see the list of cases that were available to go on. After going through all the cases I decided that the most interesting one was located in Prague and was referred to as the Gates of Hell. The case overall sounded interesting. Reports ranged from voices to shadows to full apparitions. I was excited to show the case to Robb because I figured that he would think the case was exciting as I had. After the last two cases we had went on, I was ready for some real activity. I ended up having Robb stop by my room around 6:30 that night after dinner was done and over with. I proposed the case to him and anxiously waited to see what his reaction would be.

Just as I had expected, Robb was ecstatic about the case after I showed it to him. We got right to work, contacting the owner as well as the producers to make sure that everything would be set up for when we would arrive. When you counted a day for analysis and a day for the reveal, we could leave Ireland on Monday afternoon and arrive back in the Czech Republic by Wednesday if we didn't want to drive through the night. After the disaster that unfolded the first time we went to the Czech Republic when Dustin and Joe had to drive all through the night and then literally were about the collapse the next morning, we decided that stopping overnight would be a good idea.

The owner of the castle, Ty, was absolutely thrilled when Robb and I called him to let him know when we would be down to investigate. I thought he was going to go bonkers when he answered the phone and we told him that GHI would be on their way to investigate the Gates of Hell in just a few short days. He thanked us profusely before ending the call to get things prepared for our arrival.

Robb and I then spent the next few hours helping out the producers by researching the located itself: looking up hotels, general fees and costs for staying there, ways of travel, directions as well as activities to do there while we weren't investigating. We usually stayed for a full week, sometimes more, in a single location so we always had to make sure that there was something to do while we were there.

"Robb, this is Prague—I'm pretty sure there will be plenty to do while we are there. Prague is like a tourist trap, they are designed to keep people busy." I had told him teasingly.

Robb had just rolled his eyes at me in response and waved for me to shut up. With one last laugh, I had done just that when I went back to my laptop and continued looking up information.

The entire day wasn't wasted though on sleeping, ready and boring case information though. The highlight of the entire day happened when it was nearing 9pm that night. Robb and I were still in my room going trying to finish that very last of the case information for Prague when suddenly a loud, intense siren sounded throughout my hotel room and the entire hotel.

Robb and I looked at each other in confusion and also surprise. The last thing that either of us had expected to happen that night was literally getting our eardrums busted out by some kind of loud alarm.

"Is that the fire alarm?" I asked Robb as I covered my ears to save them from being pierced by the loud ring from the alarm.

"I think so." Robb said with a grimace as he too covered his ears from the strident noise.

We exited my room and made our way to the hallway where the others that were with us on the trip were also in the hallway looking around in confusion. One of the staff members started to usher us out of the building through one of the backdoors. We were all confused but complied anyways.

We all gathered outside of the Manor House but when you looked at the house, it didn't even look like it was on fire. There wasn't any smoke or anything. When I voiced this, Barry suggested that it could be a kitchen fire but the fire alarms went off nonetheless which meant everyone had to leave the building for safety.

Everything was a little crazy outside because it wasn't just our crew that had gotten rushed outside. More guests had checked into the hotel during the day had been rushed out too. Maids, cooks and other staff had left the building as well and were standing in the little mob that we had created outside the small hotel. To an outsider we would have looked like a strange group of tourists—like a bunch of circus freaks. Some people were dressed in casual clothes, others in business clothing. Even a few people were in their pajamas already or were just plain dressed down. There was also a chef wearing a large white apron and one of those huge hats that you see chef's wear all the time on TV. He definitely looked the part—he had a curly black mustache and all. As I took a quick look around the group and studied each and every one of them, it suddenly became clear that someone was missing. Panic started to set in even though there was a possibility that everything was okay inside the building.

I grabbed Robb's shirt, since he was standing next to me, and tugged on it roughly, "Where is Dustin?" I asked in a very worried voice.

"What do you mean?" Robb asked, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion.

I growled in frustration, "I mean, _where __is__ he_? He isn't here!" I ground out.

Robb's expression switched from confused to worried to just plain pissed in ten seconds flat, "Why isn't he out here?" he barked out in a tone that was a mixture of apprehension and antagonism.

I threw my hands up in the air, "I don't know!"

It was probably a stupid thing to do but I was going insane with worry on the inside. The fact that the fire alarms went off and the staff had ushered everyone outside was enough to make me a little worried. The fact that Dustin was missing when the fire alarm went off and the staff had rushed everyone outside was enough to make me start ripping my hair out. I was scared and I'd admit it if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't own up to why I was so worried and scared. Of course Dustin was my team mate, but to me he was also more than that and I couldn't let the rest of the team know exactly how worried I actually was.

"Barry, Joe, do either of you know where Dustin is?" I heard Robb ask while I was trying to rid myself of my mini panic attack.

_In from the mouth. Out from the nose. _

_In from the mouth. Out from the nose. _

_In from the mouth. Out from the nose. _

_In from the—_

"I don't have a clue, why do you ask?"

"No idea. Why? Is he not out here?"

Robb asked the others of our group the same question and they all gave him similar answers. I couldn't hold it back any longer as a small yelp escaped my lips at their words and I ducked my head slightly. I was trying to get my hair to cover my face to hide it from the others to they wouldn't see my distress. I felt a small hand on my arm and looked up to see Aisha looking at me with her wide brown eyes. She didn't say a thing and neither did I. I wasn't exactly sure about what she thought but at the same time, I didn't care about anything other than finding out exactly where Dustin was and why he wasn't outside with the rest of us. Wordlessly, Aisha grabbed my hand in hers and squeezed.

I bit my lip and kept my eyes focused on the door to the Manor House, willing it to burst open at any minute so Dustin would run down the steps like in those movies that you see on TV. Tragedy hits and the girl is outside, panicking and wondering where her significant other is. Then suddenly, just as she is about the give up and the sad music begins to plan, the door bursts open and her significant other runs to her and pulls her into his arms. But this wasn't a daytime drama. This was reality and as I waited and waited and waited for something—_anything_—to happen my heart eventually began to sink:

The door's stayed firmly shut.

* * *

**AH! Don't kill me for this ending!! But please leave a review anyways, I promise they'll make me update faster :) And yes, I am bribing you ;) Lol.**


	18. SC: Part 11 of 11

**Authors Note:** _Okay, first I'd really like to apologize. I think I caused some major confusion and panic during the last chapter thanks to my lack of sleep and lack of not reading back over my authors note after I typed it. I wrote that after SC, I would not be continuing the story. That is false. I will be continuing mainly because Dustin and Mercedes's story isn't finished yet, there is still so much in store for them as well as many more investigations to go. I've started on the third segment, 'Gates Of Hell' but note that it is NO WHERE near finished. I've barely started on the first chapter and I've promised myself to not post anything without finishing it first. I'm going to be working on GoH over my Christmas Break as much as possible and I'm hoping that I may actually be able to finish it. It won't be anywhere near as long as SC was or as detailed. It'll probably be more like WG, the first segment. Anyways, enough on that. Sorry about the lack of communication on my part._

_Secondly, you people have such little faith in me! Do you really think I'd let anything happened to Dustin!? Of course not! Where would this story go if I killed him off? Anyways, I'd also like to note that this is a true story what happened to him. His blog on myspace is very informational. I feel sorry for the guy honestly, it's got to be embarrassing. Although, I can imagine that his real life story was no where near as dramatic as I made it. But hey, I didn't make you wait too long for the next chapter so I can't be THAT evil :) Right? _

_Lastly, before I close my forever and a day long authors note :) Merry Christmas. I hope everyone has a happy holidays and as your Christmas Presents from me to you, there is a surprise Dustin POV as well as a teaser of GoH posted at the bottom. I lied, I did have a little more of GoH done that I thought. So enjoy!!_

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_Superhuman_

- by -

Chris Brown and Keri Hilson

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**It's The Fear**

**Skeleton In The Closet: Part 11 of 11**

**Mercedes POV**

**- **_**Rathlin Island, N. Ireland 2009**_** -**

_I bit my lip and kept my eyes focused on the door to the Manor House, willing it to burst open at any minute so Dustin would run down the steps like in those movies that you see on TV. Tragedy hits and the girl is outside, panicking and wondering where her significant other is. Then suddenly, just as she is about the give up and the sad music begins to plan, the door bursts open and her significant other runs to her and pulls her into his arms. But this wasn't a daytime drama. This was reality and as I waited and waited and waited for something—_anything_—to happen my heart eventually began to sink: _

_The door's stayed firmly shut._

* * *

It had never occurred to me that something like this would happen to us while staying at the Manor House. It had never even crossed my mind that tragedy would strike the morning after the investigation. Maybe I was taking things too serious, worrying too much, being too pessimistic and looking at things like it was the end of the world—but that's what I was best at. Aisha was the optimistic one while I was the pessimist. We balanced each other out that way and it made things a hell of a lot easier yet a hell of a lot more complicated at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Aisha whispered in my ear as she squeezed my hand even tighter in her grasp.

I looked up into her eyes and lied, "Yes, I'm fine. Just worried you know, it's kind of scary." I said.

"I'm worried too." Aisha told me. "Dustin and I aren't as close as you two seem to be but that doesn't mean that we aren't friends or that I don't care about him. I'm just as worried as you are Mercedes."

'_No_ _you aren't._' I wanted to shout at her but I kept my mouth firmly shut._ 'The only person that could rival my amount of panic and worry swelling up inside me would be his mother_.' I thought darkly.

Suddenly Robb was pushing people out of the way, trying to make his way up to the front of the group.

"What is he doing?" I asked no one in particular.

It was Jim who answered me, "He's going to talk to one of the staff about Dustin." He informed me. "Are you alright? You look a little pale there, Mercedes." He said in a fatherly voice.

I nodded and once again lied straight in someone's face, "I'm fine. Just kind of worried you know?" I said with an edgy laugh. I cringed because even to my ears it sounded funny.

I kept my eyes trained on Robb's form as he talked with one of the male staff members in what was clearly a stressed and worried tone. After a while, I watched as both he and the said staff member walked up the steps to the house and walked inside together at a swift pace. After they entered the Manor House, the minutes passed by at a speed that actually felt like days to me.

I nearly cried in relief when the staff member that had walked inside with Robb, came out onto the steps of the building and gestured that it was safe for everyone to come back inside. I shot Aisha a confused look but kept her hand tightly in mine as we started to make our way back into the house.

"Where do you think Robb ran off to?" I asked Barry and Joe as we walked.

Barry shrugged, "I have don't have any idea."

As we passed the man that had walked inside, Barry asked him if he had any idea where Robb had gone. The man blushed before stuttering, "He's in your f-friend's room."

Barry thanked the man before strolling inside the Manor House at a quick pace with Aisha, Joe and I trailing behind him like a mother goose and her ducklings. Just thinking about the reference made me want to start laughing but at the moment, I was too confused to do much laughing.

When we reached Dustin's room, the door was partially opened and you could hear voices coming from inside. The very first thing I could hear was Robb laughing loudly and Dustin complaining about something.

"If the situation wasn't so damn funny Dustin, I'd probably be kicking your ass right now for making everyone worry so much! You should have seen Mercedes when she figured out that you were missing. I thought she was going to go bust down the doors herself to find you." We heard Robb say to Dustin.

Barry lightly tapped on the door and pushed it open, interrupting Dustin and Robb's conversation. When we entered the room, we saw that Dustin was sitting on his bed in shorts and a t-shirt with his hair plastered flat to his head and dripping wet instead of being in its usual spiky fashion. That fact just confused me, had Dustin been in the shower when the alarm went off and didn't hear it? I found that impossible to believe—the alarm was so loud that even if the shower was running he should have still be able to hear it.

"What happened?" Aisha asked curiously, beating me to the punch.

Dustin opened his mouth to begin to speak when Robb interrupted him, "Oh, I'll tell you all what happened." He said trying to hold back his laughter, "As some of you know, Dustin has a thing for taking extremely hot showers to relax. It appears that the steam from Dustin's hot shower was so hot that it actually triggered the smoke alarm in his room which then caused the fire alarms throughout the entire hotel to go off."

When Robb finished speaking, Dustin's face looked completely bashful and embarrassed. I felt a little bad for him, little being the keyword in that sentence. But now that I knew that he was in fact fine and okay, I also felt the need to slap him—really, really hard. I wasn't sure why I wanted to slap him exactly, but the need was there and if the others wouldn't have been around, I probably would have done it.

The awkward silence was broken as horribly disguised peals of laughter started to burst and finally erupted from Barry's chest. This caused Joe and Robb to lose themselves as well and soon Aisha was joining their laughter. As it was, Dustin and I were the only ones who weren't laughing and the only reason why I wasn't laughing was because I was pissed.

"So it wasn't even a fire after all? It was Dustin in the shower?" Barry asked through his laughter. "Oh my, that's rich!"

Dustin frowned, "Come on guys, it's not that funny." He said as his cheeks reddened.

After everyone had sobered up and had got their fill of making cracks against Dustin, we decided to all head back to our rooms for the night. It was nearing 10:30pm and Barry, Joe, Aisha and I all had to be up at 8:30am to start analysis at 10am the next morning. Everyone left Dustin's room, saying their goodbyes. I lingered a little, not really wanting to go but knowing that I had to. I gave Dustin one last look before Aisha literally almost drug me from his room.

"That was pretty great don't you think?" Aisha asked as soon as Barry closed the door behind him since he was the last one out.

Joe chuckled, "Only something _that_ embarrassing as that would happen to Dustin." He said as he shook his head, still in disbelief.

"And the fact that he set off the alarm wasn't even the worst of it!" Robb told us as he grinned like a little kid in a candy store, "Turns out when we went into his room to make sure he was okay, he had just got out of the shower and only had a towel wrapped around his waist. The look on his face was priceless—especially when the desk manager that had taken to Dustin's room couldn't stop staring at him." Robb said, cluing us in on the rest of the story.

Aisha put her hands over her mouth as her eyes grew wide, "He was checking Dustin out? Do you think he's gay?" she asked in disbelief.

"Who? Dustin or the desk manager?" Robb said mischievously.

"The desk manager obviously, I think we all know that Dustin is straight—at least I hope he is." Aisha added.

Robb jutted his chin out in response, "We all know Dustin is a ladies' man at heart so therefore, he is straight. As for the desk manager, his lingering eyes kind of gave him away." He said as he shook his head in mock sadness.

"Poor Dustin," Barry muttered. "He's going to have to try really hard to avoid that manager from here on out."

I let out a small giggle at the idea of Dustin being chased around the hotel by the gay desk manager which caused a little of my anger to fade away. I was still a little angry but I knew deep down that it wasn't really Dustin's fault. He couldn't control the steam or the smoke alarms. As soon as I realized this, my anger started to slowly fade away until it was only a little spark of what it had been.

"Well, I think it's time for all of us to turn in for the night." Robb commented as he witnessed Aisha let out a large yawn that she couldn't control. "You four have to be up early tomorrow to start analysis. I'm actually looking forward to what this place will bring forward for us."

"You aren't the only one." Barry seconded him.

"Me too." Joe chimed in.

We all said goodnight to each other before going to our separate rooms for the night. I entered my room and changed into my pajamas and put away my laptop and the papers that Robb and I had literally spread all throughout my room when we were going over the case information. Once that was all finished and my room was all neat and organized again, I decided that I would be the one to sneak over to Dustin's room tonight.

I quietly tip toed from my room and walked swiftly to Dustin's, knocking softly but firmly on his door. When he opened the door, he looked a little sullen but at the same time, excited to see me. I'll admit, it was odd seeing him without his hair all spiked up, but the flat look worked for him too. He was still Dustin either way.

"Hey," he whispered as he let me into his room.

I didn't reply back, in words, that is. Instead I did what I wanted to do earlier on that night. I slapped him. Not as hard as I had originally wanted but I still slapped him. Dustin's beautiful emerald green eyes widened to where I thought they were about to pop out of his head and his hand immediately flew to cover up the spot where I had slapped him.

"What was that for?" he asked me in shock.

I felt a couple tears prickling up in my eyes and angrily brushed them away, "For making me fucking worry about you." I hissed. "You have no idea what it was like for me to stand outside and not see you out there with us. For all I knew, there could have been a fire in your room and you were choking to death from smoke inhalation. Of course the real story was that you were in here getting eyed up by a gay desk manager." I spat, sarcasm and anger intertwining in my voice.

Dustin's head bowed slightly, "I'm _so_, _so_ sorry Mercedes." He graveled. "Wait a second, who told you about the gay—" He suddenly stopped midsentence as realization dawned on him. "Robb told you, huh?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Did he tell everyone?" he asked me warily.

Again, I nodded.

"Are you going to speak to me?" Dustin asked me anxiously.

I glared, "Of course I am!" I exclaimed. "I'm just trying to decide if I'm still angry or not now that I got that slap out of my system."

Dustin was quiet for a moment before he reached forward and took me gently into his arms. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him to me, fisting my hands into his still slightly damp hair. We stood there for a long time, me holding onto Dustin as if he was my lifeline and Dustin comforting me in return.

When I finally had gathered myself enough to pull away from Dustin's shoulder, I rested my forehead against his chin and lips, which was where the top of my head met if Dustin was standing up straight and I wasn't standing up on my tip toes. I felt his lips make a small amount of pressure against my forehead before he leaned his own head against, resting it against mine.

"You still angry at me?" Dustin asked in a whisper.

When I finally spoke, my voice broke. "N-nope." I cried.

Dustin tightened his hold on my frame, "Good."

I ended up leaving shortly after to get some sleep. But, before I did leave, I made Dustin promise never to ever pull a stunt like he had today ever again and made him agree to that promise. Once returning to my room alone, I felt so much more relieved. Despite the excitement that the day had offered, I felt completely relaxed after my small talk with Dustin. I was so relaxed that the minute I crawled into bed and turned off the lights, I was completely out in seconds.

* * *

The next morning, the analysis went off to a good start. After a delicious breakfast was served by the chef's at the Manor House, we headed to one of the conference rooms they had set up for us to do our analysis in and got to work. As always, the review over our evidence was painstakingly long. This time it was even harder for me to stay awake because I was in charge of watching all the video footage captured by the IR cameras we had placed around the hotel. This was very difficult to do because you had to pay very close attention to every detail in the room and try not to nod off to sleep.

Not much seemed to be found during analysis though. Joe found the mist that Robb had thought he had experienced on one of the mini-DV's but it turned out to just be a lense glare from one of the IR cameras that were placed in the room. Aisha then later on found the point of time when I had been investigating to Joe and I thought that I had heard a woman's sigh. Barry was immediately about to rule that out though as soon as he heard it. Apparently the sound was almost identical to that of a type of bird that was native to the island. It was a bit disappointing for me but at the same time, I knew it couldn't be helped in the least.

So when it was time to show Dustin and Robb the evidence, Barry once again let Aisha, Joe and I leave since, well, there wasn't any evidence to show. We didn't catch any audio or video of the things that we had experienced or others had experienced. Barry let us know that it was always hard, going and investigating a place and then capturing no evidence but it was just the way that things had to go for this case. The way I saw it, we had tried to do our best during the investigation to capture whatever it was that they had experienced yet came up empty handed. That didn't mean that the place wasn't haunted, it could just mean that the spirits didn't feel like making their presence known to us.

I wasn't disappointed too much thought because I knew there was tons more investigations to be held in the future and next up was the Gates of Hell. Hopefully it would prove to be interesting.

* * *

**Dustin's POV**

**- **_**Rathlin Island, N. Ireland 2009**_** -**

Robb and I were both itching to see what had been recorded and documented on the Manor House case. The whole experience had proved to be very interesting for everyone—some more than others. For me, it had been a interesting week minus the shower incident the night before. I knew from past experiences that Robb would never, ever let me forget an embarrassing moment. But overall, the investigation over the paranormal activity in the Manor House itself hadn't been completely eventful, but a lot of debunking had been done on the case so that was a least one good feat to tell the client. Of course, I could already tell that this was going to be one of those cases where the client didn't want debunking done—they wanted evidence of paranormal activity.

"So what do you have for us?" Robb asked when he and I got down to the conference room where Barry was waiting for us.

I grinned at my teammate, "Yeah, I'm actually really looking forward to see what this case had to offer for us." I said.

Barry frowned, "Well that's just it, we didn't capture any evidence for this case whatsoever."

My jaw dropped and I felt my spirits sink a little. I felt like a young child who had just gotten their candy stolen from them, "Nothing? Nothing at all?" I double checking, making sure that I had heard Barry right.

Barry sighed, shaking his head sadly, "We diligently went over ever piece of recordings that was captured. Everything that was captured was able to be debunked or just too faint on the recordings to show the client."

"What about the mist in room one that appeared on my mini DV?" Robb asked hopefully.

"That was debunked. Upon seeing it on the big screen, it turned out that it was actually a glare from one of the IR cameras." Barry explained.

I cut in, "Mercedes thought she saw that shadow in room six. Did we not get any evidence of that either?" I asked him with a frown.

Again, he shook his head—negative. "Nope, I even had Mercedes relook over the tape herself and she didn't even see what she had seen. She had her mini-DV pointed the wrong direction." He told me. "There was also a point in the night where people were hearing female whispers. That actually turned out to be a native bird. Mercedes was quite disappointed over that as well."

"She isn't the only one." I muttered.

Robb sighed and clapped his heads slightly, as sign of acceptance, "Well, nothing can be done about that. Sometimes you catch the evidence and other times you don't. That doesn't mean that the place isn't haunted or anything. It just means that we weren't able to capture it at that certain point in time." He said.

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess you are right." Even I could hear the dissatisfaction in my voice as I spoke.

Barry lifted his hand to look at the watch on his wrist, "Well, it's about 9:30pm and I don't know about you two but I'm bushed so I'm going to head to bed. I'll see you's in the mornin'."

"Okay, night Barry." Robb and I both called out after him as he left with a short wave.

After Barry retreated, Robb and I decided that the only thing to do was for us to head out to bed as well. We didn't exactly have an early morning the next day, but going to a client and not having any evidence always put a lot of stress on us as ghost hunters—especially if the client _wanted _paranormal activity.

When I got back to my room, I decided to take a quick shower but this time I avoided the hot setting and basically froze my skin when I took a cold shower. Then after my cold shower I didn't have much of anything to do so I decided to start writing my travel blog for _Myspace_. I started with how beautiful the island was and then told the adventures of the ferry boat ride as well as the unfortunate shower incident. Once that was completed, I saved it to my hard-drive so it would be able to post once the episode was released in late July or early August. Once I had finished my blog, I messed around on _Myspace_ for a while, checking my messages and replying to the ones that I could, adding people who had added me and sent a few emails to my friends back at TAPS.

I decided to turn in around 11pm that night. Sleep usually came easy for me but tonight was a bit of a dragger. I closed my eyes and tried to drift off but it was one of those nights where you laid in bed with your eyes closed, just on the brink of sleep but not yet all the way there. Because of this, it seemed like hours before I was finally able to drift into complete unconsciousness.

In the morning once the sun started shining through my room, I sat up and stretched. I wasn't usually a morning person but just like last night not being able to sleep, this morning seemed like another oddity. I was ready to wake up, I couldn't sleep any longer. I got up and dressed in GHI sponsored t-shirt like we always were supposed to wear during a reveal and a black jacket and a pair of jaded jeans and converse. I just wanted to be comfortable and that's what I was. After I had finished doing the daily grind, I went down to eat breakfast with the rest of the crew. Just as I had expected, I got teased mercilessly by my crew members—minus Mercedes surprisingly—and even some of the staff. I tried as much as possible to avoid the desk manager who had burst into my room with Robb during the fire alarm.

You couldn't even begin to imagine my mortification about the whole situation, especially to have our lead investigator and a random hotel desk manager bursting into my room while I was just coming from the shower. But, one plus was that I had that warm towel to shield myself from them. Robb immediately had covered his eyes and started spewing cuss words out at me. The desk man on the other hand … the guy was hanging around a little too long for just any little false alarm. He finally left when Robb insisted that he needed to go back outside and let everyone know that the fire alarm was just a false alarm and that they could come back inside. The whole situation was very mortifying for me and I knew that for the rest of our stay in Ireland I would be avoiding that desk manager.

When it was finally time to do the reveal to our client, Ksenia Zywczuk—the caretaker of the Manor House—we had her meet us in the conference room where Barry, Mercedes, Aisha and Joe had done their analysis. Robb quickly sat up the computer monitor despite the fact that we didn't have any evidence and pulled up two chairs for himself, Ksenia and myself. The rest of the team were waiting outside in the vans for us as we had decided to grab some dinner from the local pub that was in town and we knew that the reveal most likely wouldn't take as long as we had originally thought that it would.

"You nervous?" Robb asked me with a teasing smile as he watched me ring my hands in my lap.

I looked up at him and shook my head, "Nah, not really. I just always stress when we don't have any evidence to show to client. Something tells me that Ksenia won't be too happy about that." I replied.

Robb bobbed his head up and down with understanding. "I do too man, don't worry."

Just as soon as he had finished speaking, two of our more experienced cameramen, Jim and Will, entered the room along with a tiny built, dark auburn haired woman—Ksenia. Jim and Will explained to her exactly what they were going to be doing while filming and then asked her to take a seat at the table. Ksenia complied and sat down at the table with a hopeful grin on her face.

"How you doing, Ksenia?" Robb asked as she took her seat. He held out his hand to her and she shook it. Not wanting to be rude, I offered her my hand as well. She seemed a little too happy to shake my hand so when she finally released my hand, I pulled it back quickly and placed it on my lap.

"I'm doing very well." She said in a light alto voice, "I must say that I'm glad to see you guys again."

Robb nodded before he spoke, "Well, as you know Dustin, myself and our team came in. When we go on cases we are there to either prove or disprove a haunting. When investigating we do a thing called debunking which is finding normal and man-made sources for things that some people label as paranormal activity. Now during the tour you gave us, you showed us where a lot of the activity was occurring. Now, these reports have been being reported for the last hundred years so we were very excited to start investigating this place." He said.

I cut in, "One of the stories that you did mention to us was about the woman who was in the dining room and saw a figure out in the hallway that is adjacent to the dining room. We found this claim quite peculiar so we decided to do a test. So what we did was we had Robb stand right outside the dining room door while I was inside the dining room. I see him and walk up to the door while Robb turns and leaves and exits through the second door that's right across from the dining room that leads outside of the Manor House. When I finally look out, no one is there." I explained, telling her about an experiment that Robb and I had performed during our debunking session.

"So what we're saying is that someone sees standing outside the dining room door but by the time that they run over there to see what was there, the person is able to leave and virtually disappear. This place is rumored to be haunted so immediately the person who had seen something outside the dining room would think that it was possibly a ghost." Robb added.

Ksenia's brows scrunched up in confusion, "But don't you think you could have heard someone walking away?" she asked.

Before she had even finished the question Robb had shook his head and looked at me, "Nope, Dustin you didn't hear me walking away, did you?"

I shook my head as I thought back on the experiment, "I didn't hear a thing when he left. It was completely dead silent."

"Someone could be long gone by the time that anyone would have the amount of time to get outside to check." Robb told her.

I noticed Ksenia frown but tried to hide her disappointment. I knew that if she didn't like that news, that she wouldn't be happy with the rest of our news either but I knew that we had to continue, "There were several points throughout the night where some of our investigators thought that they were hearing something that sounded like a woman's voice." I said.

Robb continued where I had paused, "But unfortunately, when going over our footage we were able to determine that the sound actually was coming from a type of bird that is native to your island."

This seemed to confuse Ksenia even further.

I decided to tell her about the personal experiences that we did have next, to at least let her know that there had been some strange occurrences, "Now during the investigation there were some strange occurrences. For example, in room number six one of our investigators, Mercedes saw a black figure standing in the corner of the room. She was unsure of what she saw so she called Barry and I in the see if we could experience the same thing. Barry and I were trying to get some kind of response—anything—to happen so Barry got the idea to put coins down on the ground because he thought that maybe the spirit of the landlord was haunting the place and the money would serve as a trigger object. At one point during that particular session we heard the coins on the floor move but when we played it back on the tape it was just too faint to hear." I told her. Ksenia stared at me and just nodded as I finished speaking. Honestly, I found the way she was staring at me a little odd and my next sentence came out a bit choked, "We didn't want to b-bring this to you and say hey l-look at this, this is coins m-moving." I stuttered as she batted her eyelashes slightly. "But then a little later as we were sitting on the couch that's in your room, Barry sees a black figure just as the one that Mercedes had described, move from left to right into the same corner where Mercedes had seen it."

Ksenia raised her eyebrows and grinned, "Really now?" she said.

"So in other words, all three of those occurrences would be classified as personal experiences," I explained, "And I think that they—they add to some of th-the stories of room six and of—of the Manor itself." I said, stuttering again as she began to lean forward.

For a minute I'm sure that Ksenia thought that I wasn't finished speaking yet but once she brought herself out of her dazed state, she sat straight back in her chair and spoke with a slightly frustrated voice, "So do you not have any recordings that you can show me?"

I shook my head, "No, we weren't able to capture any evidence of the figure itself."

Robb then took over, "Despite the personal experiences that we had here at the Manor House, no evidence was captured during our investigation. So, we aren't able to come to the conclusion that the Manor House is haunted." He said, finally putting everything out in the open.

Ksenia's expression looked like a mix between slight annoyance and disillusionment, "Well I would say that's a bit disappointing news to hear, don't you think?" she said. "Oh well, I'm sure the locals will still insist that the place still is haunted and that the ghost just didn't want to come out for you folks." She said, trying to lighten the conversation before she looked over at me again. I swallowed heavily before looking down at the table. The whole staring thing was starting to get extremely uncomfortable.

Robb spoke almost as if he realized that I was getting a bit uncomfortable, "But just because we can't gather evidence on a particular place doesn't mean that the location isn't haunted. It just means that at that particular time we didn't capture anything." He assured her. "But we really want to thank you for having us out here. It was great to come back to Ireland despite the cold and rainy weather we've been having the past few days." He joked.

Ksenia grinned largely, showing her slightly large white teeth, "Well it was a pleasure having you guys here with us. You're welcome to come back any time you like." She said with a wink. I tried my hardest not to flinch. I always hated when we got clients who tended to flirt. Not only was it unprofessional but it was a little unnerving as well but there wasn't anything that could be helped by it.

Robb laughed but it had an uneasy tone to it as he saw Ksenia wink at me, "Well thanks again. We should be headed out now though." He said.

Ksenia nodded, "Alright, see you boys later."

Robb and I both shook her hand one last time before we got up from our chairs and headed to the vans. As soon as he left the room, Robb started chuckling about Ksenia's lame attempts of hitting on me. "Looks like you have yet another admirer." He joked.

I frowned, "Shut up."

Once out in the vans, I couldn't help but grin when I saw Mercedes sitting in the backseat with a pair of skinny jeans, her usual flats and a long sleeved shirt layered underneath a fluffy vest. Her long dark hair was pinned back into soft, shiny curls and her cheeks were pink and rosy from the cold. She looked gorgeous. What made me completely giddy was the fact that she grinned at me as soon as I got into the van on the passenger's side. It was sad but as soon as I saw her smile I completely relaxed.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked cheerfully.

Robb sighed before he began to tell her, "I think it went pretty well. Ksenia was a bit disappointed with our lack of evidence but I think she realized that it wasn't particularly our fault that we didn't capture anything for her and the folks on the island to see." He started.

"Yeah I think it went good as well." I said. "Expect she could have kept her eyes to herself…" I muttered under my breath.

Robb looked over at me and let out a small snort. "What?" Mercedes asked, leaning up forward to look between Robb and I. "What happened? Something happened…" she added.

I shook my head and laughed, "Later…" I muttered.

She nodded, "Alright."

Robb continued as if he had never quit speaking, "Well it's always easy if a place is either obviously haunted or not haunted in this particular case, we had some strong stories of paranormal activity and even experienced a few strange occurrences ourselves but didn't capture any evidence and was able to debunk a lot of things as well—yet there were still some things that were left unsolved."

"Of course, and at least we were able add more credible experiences onto those stories." Mercedes told us optimistically.

"That's most definitely true." Robb said, grinning into the rearview mirror at Mercedes. "Well I say good investigation and good work." He leaned over and pounded my fist before holding his hand back for Mercedes to give him a high-five. "Now, let's go check out that pub, shall we?"

* * *

The pub was a small cozy little hang out for most locals to go when they needed to relax after a long hard day at work. The place was kid friendly and had pool tables, game machines as well as a kitchen that served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once walking inside you were hit with the smell of deliciously cooked meals and the faint smell of beer and alcohol. The six of us squeezed into an oversized crescent shaped booth by the time a waitress who look like she was in her early twenties with fair blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail came to ask us what we wanted to start out with. We decided to order dinner since we were there as well as a few pints of beer to toast the end of the investigation.

Dinner turned out to be delicious and quickly satisfied out rumbling stomachs. The beer in our stomach's also caused us to be a bit giddier than the norm although Robb and Joe decided to only have one glass so that they could drive us back to the hotel safely at the end of the night.

"This is definitely a lot different than American beer." Mercedes commented lightly as she sipped the dark liquid from the mug that the waitress had brought.

Barry chuckled, "There definitely is a big difference between American beer and Irish beer—Irish is better." He added.

"I say that while we are here that we hold another pool tournament." Joe suggested.

"I'm in." Robb said, putting his hands down on the table and grinning.

Aisha grinned as she took a drink from her mug, "Me too."

"Count me in." Barry said.

Joe turned to Mercedes and I as neither of us had answered. Mercedes got a nervous look on her face. She took her dark red lip in her mouth and bit it before she spoke, "Uh, no thanks. I'm not good at pool—at all." she said seriously.

Aisha suddenly burst out laughing, "Oh god that's an understatement Mercedes!" Everyone looked at her in question while Mercedes's face started to flame up, "The last time we tried to play pool, she ended up accidently hitting Ayden with the pool stick when he was trying to teach her how to play. After that little incident, Mercedes has been banned from playing pool."

"Okay, so Mercedes is out, what about you Dustin?" Robb questioned.

I shook my head, "There won't be even teams if I play. I think I'll just sit out and stay here at the booth."

Robb shrugged, "Alright, suit yourself." He said before he walked off with the others to an empty pool table.

It all worked out because I hadn't really wanted to play pool anyways. I liked it—but I also wanted to spend some time with Mercedes as I hadn't really seen her at all over the last few days. As soon as they left, I snaked one of my arms around Mercedes's trim waste and pulled her into my side before nuzzling my face into the side of her neck, burrowing my face in her now curly hair.

"Dustin, stop! The others might see you!" Mercedes chastened me with a slight laugh at the end of her statement.

I pulled away slightly. I knew that she was absolutely right. "Sorry." I mumbled but right after I said it, I took a quick chance by pressing a chaste kiss against her lips. They tasted a bit like the beer she was drinking but I didn't care.

"Dustin!" Mercedes whined once I pulled away once again.

I raised my eyebrows at her and smirked, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll stop." I promised.

We sat in silence for a while, drinking from our mugs and relishing in the feeling of just sitting close together in the booth with my arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Suddenly Mercedes let out a soft snort. "What?" I asked curiously.

Mercedes gestured her hand over towards the pool tables, "They look like they are having fun."

I looked over to where she was pointing and saw that Barry and Robb were playing against Aisha and Joe. It looked like things were getting pretty heated between Robb and Aisha as they stood across from each other at opposite ends of the pool table. Aisha was saying something that looked like, '_You cheated_!' while placing her hands on her hips while Robb looked like he was arguing back. Barry and Joe were standing back watching the drama go down like always.

I started laughing as well and when I looked back at Mercedes, she was staring back at me with her deep blue eyes. It took literally every piece of self control in my body not to kiss her again but in the end, I won. Instead, I settled for tightening my hold on her. She understood immediately what I was trying to get across as a soft smile spread across her dark red lips.

The investigation was coming to its close and I for one was actually glad about that. Despite the trials that the island had brought against us, in the end the isle had treated us well, what with its riveting stories, inexplicable legends and entrancing myths. Now, I was just content to sit in the tiny pub with my girlfriend curled up into my side and a mug of that oh so delicious liquid in my hand. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to the little land mass also referred to as Rathlin Island.

The only thing I could think of in that peaceful moment was: _what could life bring us next_?

**The End.**

* * *

**Okay, so maybe it was just me or did it seem like Ksenia was being a little too absorbed in Dustin during the actual reveal. The TV one, not the one I wrote. (I don't really blame her but still.) Too me, she was which was why I wrote this. I thought it would be kind of funny to write, so I did. Anyways, Merry Christmas to all and enjoy your teaser :)**

**GATES OF HELL TEASER:**

_I shined my flashlight to the floor and my eyes landed on a medium sized rock down by our feet, right where I had heard the sound. "U-uhm, Dustin…" I said uneasily._

_"Yeah?" he asked. He was still looking to where the sound had originated from, or rather where he thought the thing was that had made the noise._

_I tugged on his hand, "Y-your rock…I think I found it."_

_His head twisted around in surprise as I gestured with my free hand to the floor where the rock was. "That is your rock, right? I k-knew the sound came from down by m-my feet and there is a r-rock down there. Just like the one that you th-threw." I stuttered in shock._

_"W-whoa, wow, wow, wow…" he repeated over and over again. "That was so cool."_

_I squeaked again in surprise. I didn't think it was so cool. I didn't like the fact that whatever was there had almost hit me with a rock._

_"Okay," Dustin said finally. "It looks almost as if we have ourselves a ballgame."_


	19. GOH: Part 1 of 7

**Authors Note:** So, I'm back and just in time for the new season of GHI. Okay, well I'm a few days late but I was working on this VERY hard to get it finished. I actually ran into some major issues within my family this weekend so this is actually a little later than I had originally planned on posting. I enjoyed writing this new segment and I'm hoping you all enjoy it too. This brings me to a serious and important topic. To warn people ahead of time, there IS alcohol consumtion in this story, not for later chapters of this segment though. But, since all GHI members are over 21, there is no underaged drinking to be heard of in this story. Also, just a question because I did realize this in my last few chapters, things between Dustin and Mercedes--how far are you comfortable with me writing? Nothing too sexual is going to be happening between them soon but for future reference, I want to know how far along sexually you as a reader are comfortable in reading. Are foreplay or lemons (_it's what we Twilight fanfic readers call sex scenes_) acceptable? If things do begin to become sexual, I will change the rating of this story from **'T'** to **'M'**. Anyways, get back to me on that and let me know :) Other than that, that should be it. Oh and check out the website because it's updating with all new information!! The most interesting will probably be the Places catagory considering I only had one outfit to add to the outfits/acc. page. But check them out :)

- RIP.

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_The Only Exception_

- by –

Paramore

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 1 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Europe. May 2009**_ -

A loud sneeze echoed through the luxurious dark grey van, interrupting the silence that I had previously been reveling in. Half way through the drive from Ireland to Prague, Dustin had decided that he wanted to play some ludicrous sounding old school rap. For some god unknown reason, Robb actually let him play it. It was probably my annoyance with the music that won him over because I would see him catch my eye in the rearview mirror and smirk every once and a while. Fortunately, Dustin had fallen asleep a halfway into the two disc CD and after Robb and I were both sure he was asleep, we had decided to turn off the CD and just listen to the silence. Silence was golden after all and in our case, it was relaxing. I shut my eyes and let the motion of the van begin to pull me into sleep. But once the loud sneeze had been uttered, I had been startled awake and immediately knew that that was going to be the end of the silence – at least for a little while anyways.

"You okay over there Dustin?" Robb asked with a slight snigger.

Dustin brought his hand up to his face and rubbed it slightly, "Yeah, I think that it's just my allergies or something. I'm just really tired for some reason."

"I knew something was up when you fell asleep. You hardly ever fall asleep during the drives. Do you think you are getting sick?" Robb asked in a grim voice.

A groan escaped Dustin's lips and he ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "I better not be. Filming is the worst when you're sick."

"Well, we don't want you getting even worse. Why don't you just chill out for a while and get some sleep." Robb suggested.

Robb and I watched as Dustin tried to get comfortable in the front seat. Of course, sleeping in the passenger's seat was obviously more uncomfortable than sleeping in the backseat because of the 'space factor'. The backseat had more space to actually stretch out and get comfortable—the front seat, did not.

"I have an idea." I offered.

"Shoot," Robb said, meeting my eyes in the mirror for a quick second before looking back at the road.

"Well," I started. "The backseat has more room to spread out that the front seat. So at the next rest stop, we can stop for a quick rest and Dustin and I can swap places because take it from me—it's much easier to sleep back here than up there." I suggested.

Dustin shrugged, "Honestly, I don't care where I sleep as long as I get some. I feel like I haven't slept in days."

I sniggered slightly, "You know, I'd believe that if I hadn't witnessed you sleep for the past few hours. You missed the entire ride through Germany."

Robb interrupted and pointed to some road sign, "The next rest stop is about five miles up the road so if you don't care Dustin, I'm just going to radio Barry and let him know that we're going to stop and take a break. My legs are starting to get really stiff anyways."

"That's fine with me." Dustin replied as he sneezed again before rubbing his eyes slightly. "God, my contacts are bothering me so bad right now."

"Take them out when we get to the rest stop." Robb suggested. "You don't look _that _nerdy in your glasses." He teased.

"Shut up." Dustin mumbled.

I laughed at Robb's comment. Then I briefly wondered how Dustin really did look in his glasses as I reached down under the seat and pulled out the Kleenex box that I had hidden under it before we left the hotel in Essen. I wasn't a doctor or anything but I still knew the signs of a cold like the back of my hand. When I had noticed Dustin's slightly red nose and tired looking eyes before we left, I had a sinking suspicion that Dustin was going to get sick. Robb took the opportunity to quickly radio Barry to let him know that we were stopping while I was busy giving Dustin his Kleenex's. I pulled out the box and handed it to Dustin in the front seat. He took out one lone Kleenex and blew his nose in it before placing it in the small wastebasket that Robb had sat up between the two front seats.

A few minutes later we pulled over at the rest stop that Robb had mentioned earlier. Robb and the others got out to walk around for a while and to use the restroom. Dustin immediately climbed into the back seat and promptly stretched out and looked as though he was going to fall asleep at any moment. I was going to let him borrow my pillow and blanket but then realized that Dustin would look completely ridiculous with it. The blanket that I had brought with me was pink with black and white hearts all over it and the pillow looked about the same.

"Dustin?" I said, "Are you sure there aren't any more blankets or pillows back in the back of the van?" I questioned as I climbed into the car with him.

He shrugged sleepily, "I have no idea. You can look but I doubt it. Why?"

"Because, you know that the minute Robb sees you curled up in my blanket that he's going to make fun of you." I told him while gesturing to the hearts on the blanket.

Dustin shrugged, "I'm not too worried. Robb knows better than to tease me too much. Sarah will get after him."

"Sarah?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you wouldn't know who Sarah is." Dustin murmured. "I'm surprised Robb didn't tell you. It's his fiancée."

My head started spinning, "Robb's engaged. Wow…"

"Yeah, they're supposed to get married sometime in October. I guess it just never came up in conversations. Anyways, Sarah is kind of a mother hen and she's always making sure that Robb doesn't pick on us too much. She knows how much he singles me out sometimes so if she finds out, she'll have his head on a platter for '_mocking the_ _sickly_'." Dustin explained with an evil smirk on his face as he said the last part.

"She sounds nice." I smiled.

Dustin nodded, "Yeah, I guess she's pretty cool. But you're better." He said, sucking up while pretending to bat his eyelashes at me.

I pushed him slightly as my heart stuttered in my chest. I changed the subject. "I thought that you were going to take out your contacts." I reminded him.

"I guess you're right about that. Oh and thanks for reminding me, I forgot about that." Dustin mused, "I should probably go do that right now." He said, getting up and starting to move towards me and the open door behind me.

While Dustin was gone, I searched the van high and low for any extra blankets or pillows but didn't find any, other than my own of course. "Dustin will just have to deal…" I muttered quietly.

"I'll have to what?" A voice came from behind me, startling me and making me bang my head on the top of the van. I turned around to see Dustin wearing a pair of black square rimmed glasses, looking amused yet concerned. "Oh shit, sorry honey I didn't think I'd scare you."

Dustin quickly climbed into the car with me and started to ask if I was okay. I swatted his hands away and told him that I was absolutely fine. Once I had convinced Dustin I was absolutely fine, we swapped positions so that Dustin could sit in my original seat. It was just at that moment that Robb appeared by the door, asking if we were ready to get rolling again. Surprisingly, he didn't comment about the blanket.

"Yeah, we're ready." I replied.

Robb nodded and started to cross over to the driver's side of the car while I climbed out of the back and hopped into the passenger's seat for the first time.

We were only on the road for five minutes before I heard a very quiet snore from the back of the van. I turned to see Dustin fast asleep, curled up with my pillow. I smiled softly before I turned to look back out the front window. "Does he snore?" I quietly questioned Robb.

I looked at me and shrugged, "Not usually, if he does I never really notice it."

I giggled quietly, "Dustin's mentioned that you yourself are quite the snorer." I teased.

"When did he say that?" Robb asked me curiously.

I sighed, trying to think back when Dustin had mentioned that little tidbit to me, "I think it was back in Wicklow when we had to share rooms. He mentioned something about not being able to sleep because you were snoring really loud. I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not though." I told him.

Robb nodded silently before he changed the subject, "Have you looked up the case information for Castle Houska yet?" he asked me questionably.

I thought back to the past few days which had flown by in a blur of activity—or rather traveling. "I hadn't gotten the chance to really sit down and start researching the history of the castle." I told Robb truthfully. "Everything has been so busy the last few days."

Robb nodded, "I know, things _have_ been pretty chaotic the last few days. I was just curious. It's not a big deal." He said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the matter completely.

After our Sunday night out at the pub after the reveal at the Rathlin Manor House, we had left Ireland the next day. We had stopped in London overnight and then picked up driving again the next day but stopped in Germany that night. That was last night. When we left Germany, we started driving straight for Prague. Robb suspected that we'd get there sometime in the early afternoon as long as we didn't have to make too many stops.

"Are you excited?" I questioned him quietly.

Robb turned his head slightly and gave me an ear to ear grin, "It's the _Gates of Hell_, what do you think?"

I smirked at his enthusiasm, "I'll take that as a yes then." I told him. "So why didn't you tell me you're engaged?" I teased lightly.

He looked at me, slightly shocked. "Oh, Sarah? Wow, I can't believe that I actually forgot to tell you that. I guess I'm just so used to everyone on the team knowing her that I didn't mention it. I'm sorry." Robb explained. "Did he tell you?" He gestured to Dustin who was sound asleep in the backseat.

I grinned, "Yeah. Dustin mentioned it earlier saying that if you teased him too much that you're fiancée would have your head on a platter."

He nodded, "He would be most definitely correct in that presumption. She's like a mother hen, so protective of everyone. That's why I love her though."

"What's she like?" I prodded.

Robb smiled a grin that spread ear to ear. "Well her name is Sarah May Carson but she just goes by Sarah. She's a year younger than I am and she's absolutely beautiful. She hates Chinese food but loves any Indian. She's weird like that. She loves _Ghost Hunters_. She was a fan even before I became the lead investigator for GHI." He gushed in a love sick voice. I sniggered at him but he was so into talking about Sarah that he didn't even notice. "She's a nurse and loves taking care of people, especially children. She and Carly get along really well so that's a diffident plus. I don't even know how to describe her—she's just perfect."

"Who is Carly?" I asked curiously. "Is that you're sister or something."

Robb suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Uh, actually," he coughed, "Carly is my seven year old daughter.

A large gust of air left my body. "Are you serious?"

He nodded, "Carly is my daughter from my first marriage."

I left bad for bringing it up. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't—"

Robb waved his hand. "It's fine, Mercedes. You didn't know."

"What happened?" I breathed out before I could stop myself.

Robb sighed, but it wasn't an upset, uncomfortable or angry sigh—just one of acceptance. "I met Carrie, my first wife, nearly ten years ago. We were only together for about six months before I proposed to her. I thought she was the love of my life. Anyways, we got married and three years into our marriage she found out she was pregnant. I was ecstatic, we'd been married for three years and I really wanted to start a family but Carrie kept saying she wasn't ready. When she found out she was pregnant, she was upset at first but then one day became fine with it. I thought that maybe one of her friends had talked her into acceptance so I didn't bother questioning it. I thought she was finally happy, but I was wrong…" he trailed off.

I waited patiently for him to continue.

I had a feeling I knew where this was heading.

"About two weeks after Carly was born, I returned back to work. One day while I was at work, Carrie asked our neighbors sixteen year old daughter to watch Carly for ten minutes while she ran to the store to pick up something. Long story short, I got a call during my lunch break from the sixteen year old girl saying that Carrie had asked her to watch Carly for ten minutes while she went to the store—and that had been four hours ago. I left work early and went home to take Carly from the frantic sixteen year old and wait for Carrie to come home." He explained. "She never did. I haven't seen her since that day before I left for work seven years ago."

When he finished I had tears welling up in my eyes and I felt so ashamed for asking. It wasn't any of my business. "Robb, I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"I promise that it's fine, Mercedes. The others all know, it was only a matter of time before you and Aisha found out as well. It doesn't hurt anymore because I have Sarah know and I know she is nothing like Carrie. Carrie and I just weren't meant to be and at the time I didn't understand why she left. But now, I'm thankful she did because I wouldn't have met Sarah otherwise."

I nodded. "That makes since."

"Besides, I've still got Carly and I couldn't ask for a better daughter."

"What's Carly like?" I asked, trying to get to a lighter subject.

Robb laughed, "Carly is seven years old and my little princess. Whatever she wants, she gets. I guess I spoil her a bit too much. She's incredibly smart and loves animals, especially marine life. Her favorite place to go is _Sea World_ in Orlando. I swear we are practically locals there we go there so often. She hates pink which I think is odd for a seven year old. Her favorite color is yellow. I miss her so much while I'm away but I know she's in good hands with Sarah and my family." He told me.

I grinned, "She sounds adorable. I love _Sea World_ too. I think we'd get along great."

Looking at me, Robb smirked and I knew a joke was coming. "We'll you two are certainly very eccentric, that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say. You're just jealous."

We laughed over my really stupid comeback before falling silent. In the past fifteen minutes I had learned a lot about Robb that I never would have known otherwise. Robb quietly drove the shiny, silver van while I played with the sleeves of my comfortable _Juicy_ sweatshirt that I had thrown on earlier that morning. Since I had known that I would be in a car all day long, I had decided to dress down and had dressed in matching _Juicy_ sweats and jacket with a plain white t-shirt underneath and matching white flip flops.

I watched the green scenery pass by for nearly half an hour before Robb and I decided to quietly play a travel game to help pass with time. The game that we chose was a game that Ayden and I used to play—_and sometimes still do_—when we were traveling. It was a counting game and didn't really has a specific name to it. When I told Robb about the game, he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about so I had to explain to him how to play.

"Basically, each person playing picks a color of car and then has to count the cars that they see which are the color that they picked. The first person to reach fifty cars first wins. Of course colors like gray and white win the most often, so to make the game more interesting, you are only allowed to pick colors which aren't so common." I explained.

We ended up playing the game a total of three times before we gave up on the idea. The first time I picked the color yellow while Robb picked brown. Robb ended up winning the first round. The second time Robb picked green while I picked red. I won the second round. For a tie breaker, Robb picked black while I picked blue. Not surprisingly, Robb won with the black cars.

After the tie breaker, we fell back into a comfortable silence. At that point of time, it was about two o'clock in the afternoon. I knew that we would probably arrive in Prague soon but I didn't really care. I was starting to get a little tired. Despite the bright light coming in from the front windshield, I felt my eyes start to droop slightly. I shut them for a short moment and began to relax to the silence once more.

* * *

- _**Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009**_ -

I was woken up nearly an hour later when I felt the previously continuous movement and purr of the van's engine of the car come to a sudden halt. Surprised, I opened my eyes to see that we had stopped in front of a big, fancy hotel like the ones that we usually stayed at whenever I went on vacation with my parents. The sheer size of the hotel before me caused me stare in awe. Despite the fact that I was used to the lavish lifestyle my parents had brought me up in—things like this could still amaze me.

"The producers decided to spoil us this time," Robb said, taking in my awestruck face. "Welcome to the Hilton Hotel in Prague."

"It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it," I gushed. "And trust me; I've been in many, many nice hotels." I said, shuttering slightly.

"After meeting your mother that doesn't surprise me any." Robb muttered under his breath.

I smiled sadly, "She does like the more sumptuous and lavish things in life."

"Well, do you want to wake Dustin while I go check everyone in?" Robb asked me.

I had to fight to keep the grin off my face. It was time for a little payback for how Dustin had woken me back when we had to stay overnight in Germany when going to Rathlin. "Sure, sounds good." I said honestly, trying my hardest to hide the wicked smirk that was threatening to show up on my features.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier," Robb said, turning back to me and pointing back at Dustin, "He looks really manly with that heart blanket, don't you think?" he said, trying his hardest to hold back laughter.

I rolled my eyes but even I couldn't help but let a smile show up on my face, "He certainly does."

"I say we get some blackmail," Robb said, reaching down in the van's consol to grab my digital camera.

My eyes widened as I took in my precious piece of equipment, "Robb I know exactly what you're thinking and I don't think that it's a good—" I was cut off when the little click sounded, letting me know that Robb had already taken a picture.

I sighed and brought my hand to my forehead while Robb turned to me with a giddy look on his face. "It's on your camera, so you can always delete it later but it'll be the perfect blackmail for if you ever need to get back at him for something."

"Don't you need to get inside and check us in?" I reminded him sternly, placing a hand on my hip and raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled and took in my firm stature before simply laughing and turned away before walking straight into the outstanding hotel before us. I grabbed the camera from where Robb had placed it back in its original place and looked at the picture he had taken. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't bring myself to delete the picture. I shut the camera off and placed it in my jacket pocket before exiting the car and opening up side door on the passenger's side and crawling inside.

I immediately took in Dustin's sleeping form as I did so. For a few moments I curled my legs up underneath me and watched him sleep. I didn't have the heart to wake him up yet. He just looked so adorable while he was sleeping. His Italian olive toned skin looked paler in the dim light that was trying to shine its way through the tinted windows of the van. I then let my blue eyes take in his angular face with his chiseled jaw line and sharp cheek bones. His dark eyelashes lay against said cheek bones while his eyes moved erratically beneath his eyelids, signaling he was dreaming. As much as I wanted to wake him to see his deep green eyes looking back at me, I couldn't do it. Not yet. There was nothing that I hated more than being awoken from a deep slumber when I was dreaming. I would be a charlatan, a hypocrite, if I were to do that to someone else.

So instead I let my boyfriend continue sleeping as long as possible. I removed myself from the van and instead started to unload what I could from the back. I quietly enlisted the help of Zach, Joe and Jim to help me start removing our suitcases from the back of the van. They respected my wishes of letting Dustin rest and worked as quickly and quietly as possible.

Unfortunately, the peace of the moment was broken when Aisha started speaking. "Why in the hell is everyone being so damn quiet out here? I mean seriously, it's like you guys are mute all of a sudden. It's kind of nerve-wracking."

I shot Aisha a glare before walking over to where the backdoor of the van was opened and poked my head inside. Sure enough, Dustin was awake and looking extremely disoriented. "Afternoon sunshine!" I greeted him in a teasing tone.

"Was that Aisha yelling out there?" he asked, his voice husky from sleep.

I nodded apologetically, "Yeah, we were all trying to be quiet so you could sleep as long as possible but Aisha didn't know and started yelling up a storm out there. Sorry that she woke you up."

Dustin reached his arms over his head, stretching a bit before he spoke, "Well, it was probably time for me to get up anyways. I don't know why I'm so tired all of a sudden."

I heard the crunching and soft patter of footsteps and looked up to see that Jim was walking towards me. He stood behind me and poked his head into the van to look at Dustin, "Hey, how're ya holding up in there, son?"

A grin crossed Dustin's stressed features. You just couldn't help it around Jim. He was one of those older southern gentlemen that held a special something in their aura that you just couldn't help but smile about. "I'm doing better man. That nap helped a bit."

A loud, deep chuckle escaped Jim's mouth. It was one of those types of laughs that make you think about Santa Clause. In fact, I just about expected Jim to grab a hold of his belly and say, '_Ho, Ho, Ho_' but instead he said, "Yep, I understand ya there. Doreen says that naps don't make you any less of a man."

"You're wife's a smart woman, Jim." Dustin said with a small laugh.

Jim nodded with a proud grin on her face, "Doreen's quite the lively character—much like our Mercedes here." He gave me a large, white toothed smile before he looked back to Dustin. "One day some man's gunna swipe her off her feet—if one hasn't already." He said, giving both Dustin and I a small wink before he sauntered off in the opposite direction towards the hotel.

After he had left, Dustin and I exchanged a small panicked look. "Do you think he—" I cut myself off before I even finished.

Dustin shook his head, his eyes wide with surprise. "There's no way…" he replied before he let out another large sneeze.

I grinned over at him before beckoning him out of the van doors, "Come on snotty. Let's get inside."

Not even turning around to see his expression, I knew it was sending me a sharp glare. "I'm—I'm not snotty!" he called out.

Sniggering, I ignored his protests before making my way over to where Aisha and Barry were staring at me with amused expressions on their faces. I looped my arm through Aisha's when I reached them.

"What is he yelled about now?" Aisha asked curiously.

I shrugged, "He sneezed so I called him snotty. I don't think he enjoyed that too much."

Barry let out a hearty laugh, "Sometimes I wonder about you, Mercedes." He told me seriously.

-

* * *

The rest of the day proved to be pretty uneventful despite the hustle and bustle hotel that we were staying at. The Hilton Hotel in Prague was one of the best. One of the best aspects was that the staff was multi-lingual. They didn't have really heavy accents either when they spoke to us in English which was also a plus. The hotel itself had many amenities. There were three different restaurants inside the hotel, a private lounge and two bars plus a spa and sauna, workout room and two large heated pools with hot-tubs as well.

The producers had booked us executive suites all right next to each other so we didn't have to run all over the hotel looking for each other. Most of the hotels that we had stayed in so far were small enough that the rooms were pretty randomized so we didn't always have rooms that we all right next to each other. This time was different. We had an entire block all to ourselves. I lucked out and got Aisha on one side of me and Dustin on the other with Robb's room being right across. Barry's room was across from Aisha's while Joe's was across from Dustin's. The cameramen's rooms were all scattered next to Dustin and Joe's rooms. The rooms were all connecting, which was also a plus, but could be locked from inside the room if you needed privacy. We decided to all lock our connected doors because using the outside doors would be just as easy.

The first few hours we stayed at the hotel were spent unpacking, making arrangements for the next day's investigation and just getting settled into our 'home' for the next week. It wasn't until nearly 6:30pm that everyone started to immerge from their rooms to get something to eat. Not everyone was feeling up to getting out and about in the hotel so some of our crew ended up ordering room service, Dustin being one of them. He ended up falling back asleep about a half hour after we started settling in. He wanted to get as much rest as possible before the investigation if he was in the process of getting sick.

So in the end, it was Robb, Aisha, myself, Barry, Jim, Zach, Chad and Gavin that ended up checking out the _CzecHouse Grill & Rotisserie. _Aisha and I had a little laugh because when checking the dress code, it read: Smart Casual.

"I don't even know what that is!" Robb had exclaimed when Aish and I told him.

Robb insisted that he had never seen a place that demanded 'smart casual' so he wasn't sure what to wear. I didn't either but all I knew was that my current attire wasn't one of choice. I was a little put out of having to change out of my comfortable _Juicy_ attire but didn't complain too much after I ended up picking out a cute outfit to wear in exchange.

Dinner turned out being fantastic as it usual. The Czech dishes were actually quite good much to my surprise and the whole table seemed to be lively and talkative, probably on a fun high from being in Prague.

"Now everyone needs to get a good night's sleep tonight!" Robb announced as we were walking back to our rooms. "Aisha and Mercedes—this means you. No late night movie night tonight. I want you two in bed by ten."

Aisha and I looked at each other before we smirked at Robb, "Sure thing, _Dad_." We teased.

We all exchanged good nights and sleep wells once we had reached our hotel rooms again and then went inside for the night. When I entered my hotel room, I was at loss of what to do for the next few hours. It was approaching 8pm and I still had about two hours to kill before I was _supposed_ to go to sleep. In the end, after spending a long time sitting on the edge of my bed staring off into space, I eventually decided to take a relaxing shower and then get comfortable. I went ahead and blow dried my hair after exiting the shower so it wouldn't be a frizzy mess in the morning when I woke up. I then slipped on a tank top, a pair of shorts and then dug around in my suitcase for the sweatshirt that I had smuggled from Dustin.

'_Okay, so maybe smuggled isn't the correct term_.' I thought idly. '_He gave it to me willingly_.'

I pulled the warm piece of clothing over my head and inhaled deeply, just as I always did. The sweatshirt was starting to lose its touch—smelling more like _me_ than it did Dustin. But nevertheless, I loved the sweatshirt. I didn't care if it was too big for me or if I looked stupid in it. The only thing that mattered was that it was actually unbelievably soft and warm and that it was Dustin's.

Once I finished getting dressed, I decided to check up on Dustin. I felt like a worried mother or nurse but I knew how miserable it was to have to investigate a regular house when you were sick. I couldn't even begin to imagine doing nearly a twelve hour investigation for a television show when I was sick. I probably couldn't do it. But that's what I loved about Dustin—when he made a commitment, he stuck to it. I was quickly noticing that he kept all his promises. It made him look like an even better man that he already was.

Regardless of what the others had decided, Dustin and I had agreed through text messaging that we would both leave our doors unlocked but closed just in case one of us needed the other. It would be less of risk if we used our connecting doors than the main doors. We would probably get caught otherwise since we were all blocked together this time.

I quietly walked over to the connecting doors on the side of the room and opened it quietly. I wasn't sure if he would be asleep or not and I didn't have him to have a rude wakeup call twice in a row in one day. Sure enough, upon opening the door all the lights were turned off other than the bathroom light and a small desk lamp on the complete other side of the room from the bed. I also heard the same light snores (that probably wouldn't even be classified as snores) when I stepped into the room itself.

When I got over to the bed, I saw Dustin curled up on his side with one of his arms behind his head. His hair was all matted down from sleep but he still looked completely adorable. When sleeping, he looked a shadow to the strong man he was because when unconscious, he looked like an innocent little boy. But I was sure that he probably wouldn't like me saying that when he was awake, so I decided to keep that thought to myself.

Suddenly he let out a loud cough and small sniffle before he turned over to face me. At first I thought he had woken up but then I noticed his eyes still firmly shut and moving radically, showing that he was still in his REM sleep. I felt extremely stupid just watching him sleep so I reached my hand out and held it to his forehead, checking for a fever. He was a little warm but I didn't feel like anything serious. After finding out that little tidbit, I was almost sure that Dustin just had a regular cold and not the flu.

"…cedes?"

My head snapped up and my eyes looked immediately to his face. His eyes were now half open, their green depths showing themselves to me. He yawned and motioned me down with his finger. I bit my lip before I sat down slowly on the bed.

"Hey, I didn't mean to wake you. I was just checking to see if you had a fever or not." I said in a soft, whispered voice.

Dustin yawned again before shutting his eyes, "…glad you're takin' care of me…" he mumbled.

"Of course I'm taking care of you." I said with a small laugh. "I'm your girlfriend, isn't that my job?"

"Actually, that'd be my mothers." He replied in a teasing tone.

I huffed slightly and moved to get off the bed, "Fine, then I'll just leave you in your sick misery."

An arm shot out and grabbed me before I was even fully off the bed. I fell backwards with a loud giggle, "I was kidding! I'm not done with you!" Dustin growled playfully.

"Are you not?" I asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

Dustin shook his head, "No way, Babe."

I decided to change the subject before things got too out of hand. "So, what do you think about the new case Robb and I picked out?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn excited about this one." He replied with a child-like grin.

Seeing the look on his face made me smile as well, "Good, because I have a really good feeling about this case. I think this is going to be one of the best ones we've been on." I told him honestly.

"Sweet. I can't wait!"

"Are you feeling any better?" I asked in a concerned voice. I knew the investigation tomorrow would be killer for Dustin if he wasn't better.

Thankfully, Dustin nodded, "Yeah, the meds that you and Robb practically forced down my throat helped a lot."

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tightly, "Good, because going on an investigation while you're sick will only make you even sicker. And frankly, I don't want you to get any worse."

"You're so sweet." He sighed, pulling me closer to him. "So what did you and Robb talk to me about while I was out."

I bit my lip. "Uh, he told me about Sarah and Carly. But, he also told me about Carrie."

Dustin looked surprise, "He told you about Carrie? Everything?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he told me everything. I feel so bad for him. I can't imagine having someone walk out on you like that."

"Hey, don't cry." Dustin said softly. I hadn't even noticed I started crying again until he said something. Sure enough, I had tears welling up in my eyes. "Don't cry baby."

I sighed, "I cried when he told me. I just, I don't know why but for some reason that story really upset me. Robb is such a great guy, I don't understand why she would just leave him and with a two week old baby! Why would a mother give up their kid like that?"

Dustin sat up and wrapped his arms around me in a steel cage and began rocking me back and forth to calm me down. "Does this have anything to do with your mother?" he asked me softly when I finally stopped crying.

I shrugged, "I don't really know. I mean, Francesca loves me, I know she does but she was never around when I was younger. She only bought me stuff and that never made me feel loved. It wasn't until I was older that I realized that she really cares for me. It actually wasn't until Cesky Krumlov that I fully realized it. I just—I sympathize Carly because I know what it's like to go through your childhood without a mother."

"She has Sarah though. Sarah loves her like her own and Carly loves Sarah as her mother. She was so happy and excited when Robb told her that he was going to marry her. Carly wanted them to get married that very second." Dustin said.

"Is she really cute?" I asked.

Dustin nodded against my head, "She's so adorable. I hope I have a daughter just like her one day."

"You will." I said. "And you'll be the best dad in the whole world."

"You think so?" he asked.

I nodded because I really did think so. "I know so."

We fell into silence after that. It wasn't awkward. In fact, it was welcomed. There really wasn't anything else for us to talk about and Dustin was tired, even though he had been napping all day. So instead of trying to press for more conversation, I reveled in the fact that Dustin and I were snuggled up in bed. There was nothing sexual or naughty about it. It was purely innocent. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

When I noticed that Dustin had started to nod back off to sleep, I quietly untangled myself from him. I quickly kissed his forehead, whispered goodnight and then retreated from the room. After I was back in my own room I went straight to bed, ready for a good night's sleep but still anxious for the investigation the next day.

'_Tomorrow is gonna be good_.' I thought before I finally fell asleep.

* * *

**So, thoughts on this first chapter? What do you think of Robb's past? I thought that with me continuing this story, the need for you to know more about the characters in becoming a necessity. But please remember, this IS fiction. Anyways, I'd love to hear what you think so please don't be shy. Leave a review :)**


	20. GOH: Part 2 of 7

**Authors Note:** _I am BEYOND pleased with the amount of response to this story. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without you guys here to support me and all that jazz. It really means alot to me. I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter because here is where the suspense of the story starts to build up. A little sarcasm, a little angst, and a whole lot of teasing Dustin :) You can't help it, the boy was just made to be teased by Robb. So read on, leave a review if you please and most importantly, enjoy! Also, thanks for letting me know about the lemons, no one seemed to be opposed to it so I'd look forward to some possible smut in further segments of the story!_

_- RIP._

_

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**PLAYLIST:**

_Candle (Sick and Tired)_

-by-

The White Tie Affair

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**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 2 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

- _**Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009**_ -

The next morning, I woke up around 8:30am and found that the rest of the crew minus Dustin was already awake. After deciding to let him sleep as much as possible, we went to eat breakfast at a restaurant inside the hotel called _Atrium_. Apparently, it was known for its international breakfast buffet and world famous coffee. The restaurant's dress code was casual so I just wore a pair of sweatpants and a track jacket down to breakfast. The crew had the same thing on their minds apparently because none of us were ready to go out for the day. We quickly discovered that the restaurant was famous for a good reason. The breakfast was fantastic and we had a good time trying a little bit of everything on the buffet.

We returned back to our rooms an hour later with satisfied stomachs and grins on our faces. As we were about to go back into our rooms to get finish getting ready for the day, Robb announced that we weren't due to be at Castle Houska until around 5pm but we had an hour drive from the hotel to the actual investigation site in Blatce. We all groaned at this. More driving was the _last_ thing that we wanted to do.

Aisha and I decided to save time by getting ready in her room. I grabbed my clothes for the day, a grey scoop neck top, faded jeans and silver flats as well as my curling iron before making my way to Aisha's room. When I walked in, Aisha was nowhere to be found and it looked like her suitcase had exploded because there were clothes everywhere. Someone who didn't know Aisha very well would be shocked but I was used to this kind of behavior. When were at home, more often than not, her room looked like a tornado had flown through it.

"Having problems picking out an outfit?" I teased as I took in the mess before me. I knew Aisha had to be in the room somewhere, I just wasn't sure where.

Aisha popped up from behind the bed and growled at me. I jumped in surprise, not expecting her to show up out of nowhere like that. "Yes I'm having issues. Thanks for asking." She spat sarcastically.

"Why are you hiding behind the bed?" I asked curiously.

"I'm looking for an outfit!"

"And that requires hiding behind a bed?"

"No, my suitcase is over here. And I wasn't hiding, I was just sitting down by my suitcase going through it."

"Whatever you say," I replied shaking my head at my best friend. "I'm using your bathroom to change and curl my hair. Okay?" I told her as I walked into the bathroom.

Aisha replied almost immediately, "Alright!"

I quickly changed into my clothes for the day before plugging in the curling iron. It didn't take long for it to get hot and before I started curling my hair, I sent a silent prayer up to God praying I wouldn't burn myself. The last thing I needed before an investigation was a burn on my forehead.

A few minutes later, Aisha entered the bathroom. "So I was thinking about going old school today. What do you think?"

I looked up from where I was curling my hair to see her standing in the doorway with a green long sleeved v-neck, dark washed jeans, a pair of tennis shoes and her letterman jacket on. I gave her a quick thumbs up before returning back to my hair.

"Looks good Aish."

"Sweet, thanks!" she said before rushing out of the bathroom again.

After I finished curling my hair, I put on a light layer of makeup before deeming myself ready to go. I handed the curling iron over to an impatient Aisha and sat on a stool in the corner while she finished getting ready. While she curled her hair, we talked about random things like the impending case, the restaurant that we had gone to that morning and the hotel itself. We also talked about Prague and what things we wanted to do and to go visit while we were here. We decided that we definitely wanted to check out Charles Bridge, the old town square, the Church of St. Nicholas, Municipal House Hall, Petrin Hill, Wallenstein Palace Gardens and the Prague City Museum. We named off other places as well but those seven were the main places we wanted to go. We had five more days in Prague and we were definitely going to spend that time wisely.

After we finished getting ready, we reported to Robb's room where everyone had already started getting all our equipment together. We needed to double check everything and make sure the equipment didn't have any problems before we left for Castle Houska. We didn't want to arrive at Castle Houska only to find we needed an extra power strip or one of our cameras was malfunctioning.

Around noon, Robb sent Barry to go finally wake up Dustin as we needed him to be up and ready by 3:30pm, which was when we decided to leave. By getting to Castle Houska early, we would have extra time to set up which was always a good thing. Everyone was getting hungry about that time, so Aisha and Joe went down to the Café Bistro and ordered us all sandwiches to eat for lunch while Robb and I decided to do a final check of the case information.

"Well Mercedes, I'm proud of you." Robb announced randomly after I had relayed all the extra research on the castle I had looked up.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion, "Why?"

"Because, you read all that information aloud without breaking into a sweat or stuttering over your words—you're making good progress!" he teased.

I glared, "Thanks for the support, Robb."

"I really am proud of you though." Robb said seriously. "You've spent so much time and effort on this new case. You're very dedicated to your job as case manager and you're part in the team. You and Aisha both—I'm proud to have you two as members of our team."

A large smile crossed my face at his praise, "Thank you." I said shyly.

I couldn't agree more. I loved this team, this job, with everything in me. As he was one of the lead investigators, I was ecstatic that I could make Robb proud.

"Now, where are Joe and Aisha with those sandwiches? I'm starving!"

I laughed. '_Yes, I really love this team_.'

The rest of the day passed as a flurry of activity for our crew. Dustin was feeling tons better and was back to his cheerful and energetic self which was fantastic news to the team. The last thing we needed was to be down an investigator. Joe and Aisha finally showed up with our lunch and we ate quite a noisy lunch in Robb's suite. I have no idea how we fit everyone, and by everyone I mean the entire investigation crew as well as our camera crew, in his room but we managed. After lunch we packed up the equipment into the vans. Robb, Barry and Jim, all checked the vans and gassed them up before we had to leave. Everyone was a bit impatient to leave so we ended up getting an even earlier head start than originally planned and left at 3pm. About halfway through our journey, we were thankful we did leave so early because we ran into construction.

"Are you serious?!" Robb yelled out in a frustrated voice, waking me from the nap that I had been taking.

I rubbed my eyes and uncurled myself from the comfortable position I had been sleeping in. "Urg—what's going on?" I asked in a still sleepy voice.

Dustin turned around and saw me and my sleepy face before chuckling softly, "Afternoon sleeping beauty."

My eyes narrowed at him, "Not all of us got to sleep in until noon, princess." I retorted.

He put his hand to his heart, "Why Mercedes, you wound me!"

I couldn't help but laugh at him and his drama queen antics.

Robb rolled his eyes at us, "You two are insane." He muttered under his breath.

"So, why are we stopped?" I asked, finally taking the time to look out the window.

Robb snorted, "Look out the window, we're in a huge construction zone! The hotel should have warned us about this when we asked them for directions."

"At least we got an early start." I said, trying to be optimistic.

"But at the rate we're going, it's going to be hours before we get out of this!" Robb replied, shooting me down immediately.

Trying to get his mind off the construction and the fact that we may for once in our lives be late for an investigation, I frowned, "What happened to happy, mellow Robb?"

"He's on vacation. Grouchy, impatient Robb is making his once in a lifetime appearance." Dustin chimed in.

"We could call you Grouch, like the little green monster that lives in the trash can off _Sesame Street_." I teased.

Dustin scoffed, "He has a name you know. His name is _Oscar_, Mercedes—his species in a Grouch!"

Robb and I both looked at Dustin in surprise who was smiley proudly at his childhood tv show knowledge. Both of us tried not to laugh, because Dustin honestly looked proud about knowing this fact. Unfortunately, Robb couldn't hold his guffaws in for long and I followed soon after.

"What?" Dustin asked in a confused voice.

"Y-you sounded s-so offended!" Robb exclaimed through his boisterous laughter.

I smiled, "And mellow Robb is back!" I said in an announcer like tone.

Dustin and Robb both ignored me and got into a small debate on _Sesame Street_. It was pretty comical watching two grown men over thirty arguing about a children's show.

"I was an avid cartoon watcher when I was a kid." Dustin said, defending his actions.

Robb grinned, "You probably still are. I bet when we aren't traveling and you're home alone, you sit in front of the TV in your underwear watching _Little Einsteins_ or something."

Dustin came back with some kind of retort and Robb answered it with another jab. It went on like this for about ten more minutes before I noticed the cars in front of us were now moving again. Robb and Dustin were so into their argument that they didn't even notice.

"Will you two stop acting like three year olds?" I exclaimed, putting on a stern face. "The cars in front of us are finally moving and if you weren't too busy arguing over _Sesame Street_, you would have known this. For goodness sakes, the cars behind us honking their horns and screaming out profanities at us!"

"It wasn't _Sesame Street_, it was _Little Einsteins_!" They defended.

Suddenly, the walkie in the front of the van clicked on and Barry's voice drifted through, "_Robb, Dustin, you do realize you can go now_…" he said in an amused tone. "_I don't believe the other cars behind us appreciate you holding up the line_."

Robb reached for the walkie to reply to Barry but I snatched it from him before he got the chance. "Oh, they know but they were too busy arguing about _Sesame Street_ to notice that they could go." Looking exceedingly mortified, Dustin stole the walkie back from me, trying to redeem himself and Robb while Robb started up the van again. Soon we were back on the road again and the honking behind us stopped.

I sighed in relief, "I cannot believe you two didn't hear the honking."

Dustin shrugged, "I thought they were honking at the construction people. Not us." He said honestly.

"I worry about you sometimes."

The rest of the drive went smoothly with no more construction, childish fights or honking from other cars. When we were about ten minutes from Castle Houska, Robb told me to get ready because we were going to start filming the opening scenes soon. Dustin turned off the radio while I pulled the case file out like always and set it up in my lap. Fortunately, I had this case nearly memorized. I probably wouldn't need to look down at my written information at all. Castle Houska had one of the fascinating histories I'd ever come across.

"Ready?" Robb asked me, turning to look at my briefly.

"Ready Freddy," I giggled. "Now keep your eyes on the road."

"You know," Robb started out randomly. "It feels weird driving a car through here."

Dustin looked confused, "Why?"

"Because you look around and you see all these things left over from Medieval times and you just…I don't know, you feel like you're being transported back into that time."Robb replied.

I hummed slightly as I looked out the window at some passing buildings, "Hmm, I see you're point."

"Well, I'd like to officially welcome everyone to the Czech Republic. We have a huge case here that we are doing so I'm going to let her get straight to work on telling you what's going to be going down tonight." Robb said. "Mercedes?"

I picked up my walkie and spoke into it cheerfully, "Hey guys!"

"Good afternoon Mercedes." Barry replied in his usual Irish accent.

"So tonight's case is _huge _Robb isn't lying in the slightest, but I think you're really going to enjoy it. This place is believed to be the gates to hell. People believe that the castle was originally build to keep evil inside of it." I started out. "The castle was built by Ottokar the second of Bohemia during his reign from 1253 to 1278. Castle Houska became an important royal abode afterwards. It later passed to the hands of the aristocracy in which it remained in until 1924. During the late 1930's, it is believed that the Nazi's took over the castle and performed experiments inside of it. What experiments, I doubt we'll ever actually know but this castle has seen some pretty bad times. Still, it's got to be one of the best preserved castles of its time. No, the claims of activity here was pretty full ranged from shadows, voices, full bodies apparitions, objects being moved, scratching sounds on the walls or on furniture—they have a bit of everything."

"Well, if we're going big, we might as well go real big and go with big gates of hell big!" Robb exclaimed.

I giggled in the backseat. I doubt Robb even realized how funny that statement sounded with all the '_bigs'_ he had said in one sentence.

Dustin snickered, "Absolutely brotha'."

"I'm thinking that that's it right up there." Robb said, pointing at a square shaped castle on a hill a little ways up the road.

I gasped, "Wow, it really is out here in the middle of nowhere."

"It's pretty." Dustin said, sounding slightly unsure of himself as he said it.

'_Oh no_.' I thought. Another argument was going to come up. I had been so proud of them because they had been completely silent through the rest of the drive. I wasn't going to actually admit it out loud to them but their little arguments were really starting to annoy me. I mean one every once in a while was comical. But they just kept going and going and going like the damn energizer bunny. There was always something for them to argue about it seemed. I mean, they fought worse than me and Ayden. And that's saying something.

"Pretty?" Robb asked, smirking evilly.

Dustin nodded, "Uh—yes?"

"Pretty?"

"I said yes."

"But pretty?"

"YES!"

"Dustin, you're a thirty-one year old man calling a castle pretty."

"You're point?"

Robb shook his head. "Man, I really worry about you."

We pulled into the driveway of the castle about that time. I looked down at my watch and discovered it was already 5pm. We were right on schedule. "Okay boys, please put on your big boy pants and take a tour of the location. I think you can go a half hour without arguing." I snapped, not bothering to hide the fact that I was noticeably annoyed.

They both turned and glared at me, "Yes Mercedes." They said sarcastically.

* * *

_**- Blatce, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

About twenty minutes later I found myself sitting in the back of the equipment van with Aisha and Joe while the other three boys took the tour of the castle. After doing a triple check over the equipment, we had to just settle down and wait for the boys to return.

"So you seemed to have an interesting drive over here, Mercedes." Joe commented.

I rolled my eyes, "Pshtt, whatever! Those boys were acting more childish than I've ever seen them before. It was like they had attacked a bag of Twizzlers and were bouncing off the walls of the van. They were arguing about _Sesame Street_ and whether or not it was okay for Dustin to call a castle pretty."

Joe shook his head in amusement, his eyes squinting as he laughed, "I think they're getting worse and worse with every case."

"Maybe we just need to separate them for a while." Aisha suggested.

"Or we could just leave them to it and get some enjoyment out of it." Joe countered.

Aisha let out a giggle, "Or that. I'll make the popcorn."

"I'll get the drinks!" Joe replied.

I rolled my eyes, "Not you guys too!" I cried. "You can't encourage them!"

Joe shrugged, "When you're on this team, you just learn to go with the flow and not let things bother you. I've been dealing with Dustin and Robb's arguing since the middle of the first season. You just get used to it after a while." He assured me.

"It doesn't annoy you? Not even a little bit?" I prodded.

Shaking his head, Joe replied, "No way. It's too funny. It used to really anger Brandy as well now that I think about it. Maybe it's just a case manager thing."

"Maybe," I agreed.

"So what do you think about this place?" Aisha asked, changing subjects.

I grinned, "I'm so excited to get in there!" Joe nodded enthusiastically beside me, "Me too."

"No, I mean what do you feel about the place just by standing outside." Aisha rephrased.

Joe's eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm sorry. I still don't understand what you mean."

Aisha sighed before starting again. "Are you two getting any creepy feelings just by standing outside of this place? I don't know if it's just me, the general location or the fact that this place is named the damned Gates of Hell…" she said in a rushed voice. "I just need a second opinion."

I took in the grounds a bit after she spoke. Castle Houska was made up of tan colored bricks and had a light blue metal roof. For some reason, the looks of the castle just gave the impression: _get out_. The place was huge and as I had said earlier, was out in the middle of nowhere. The closest town was a tiny settlement consequently called Houska. While this town was close to the castle, there wasn't a city around for miles. The castle itself was square within a square within another square in shape, which was very odd for a castle. There wasn't a castle that was anything like Castle Houska. It was surrounded by woods and swamps. There weren't any clear paths other than a tiny road to get to it. The castle itself didn't have any certain defense mechanisms and there was no running water. There was no logical reason for a castle like this to even exist. It just gave further proof into the belief that the castle was built to keep the evil of the underworld within it. Too add on to everything, the sun was setting fast, which made shadows cast off of every surface available giving the place an even creepier look.

"The place does give me the creeps." Joe said, interrupting my musings on the castle.

"I agree, this place is just gives off the vibe that whatever is here wants you to get out and stay out. Not saying that I want to leave or not do the investigation or anything but—Urg, I don't know. That's the vibe I'm kind of picking up on right now."I explained.

Aisha nodded slowly, "See, that's exactly what I'm thinking. I don't know but I'm kind of scared for this investigation. I mean, Robb warned us that we could be dealing with demonic entities on this case. We've never dealt with that before, Mercedes."

"I know." I whispered quietly.

Joe smiled at the both of us, "Don't worry girls, we won't let anything happen to you. We're like a family and we'll be damned if we let one of our family members get hurt. You'll be with one of us at all times. Don't worry about a thing." He said in a calm and reassuring voice.

"I hope you're right." I muttered.

It was yet another fifteen minutes before the boys finally trudged back down to the vans. By then, it was almost completely dark. A little bit of light still peaked from the horizon but other than that, the sky was filled with dark blues, blacks and purples. Stars were beginning to show themselves and the night creatures such as crickets, frogs and cicadas were starting to chirp loudly.

Robb clapped his hands together with a grim look over his face. "We really have it cut out for ourselves with this case." He sighed as he took of his hat and ran his hand over his shirt hair.

"Why?" Joe asked.

Barry answered, "Not only do we have a lot of ground to cover but nearly every inch of this place has a story. We'll have to be extremely thorough in our investigation, even more so than usual. And on top of all that, we probably won't be dealing with human spirits tonight." He explained dourly.

"This means I want you to be in teams at all times. No investigating alone. Make sure to keep your walkie on you at all times as well, no exceptions. We don't know exactly what we're dealing with but if there really are demonic entities inside that castle, this could be a very dangerous case. I don't want anyone getting hurt." Robb announced.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Robb continued, "Okay, let's get started with set up then. Central command will be in the main room right as you enter the castle."

And with that, everyone got to work unloading the vans. As always, our set up went well without too many problems for us. Aisha and I set up the monitors at Central as quickly as possible before Robb, Dustin and Barry each took two IR cameras and set them up while Joe stayed at Central to direct them in setting up the angles. Aisha and I then made quick work at taping down the wires, setting up the mini-DVs and digital recorders and making sure all the cases were organized. Soon, we were done and ready for Barry to introduce the angles.

"Alright Barry, show us what you've got here." Robb said.

Barry nodded and cut right to the chase. "Okay, cameras one and two are both set up in the courtyard so we can try and get as much as that open space as possible. Camera three is in the hunting lodge. Cameras four and five are in the chapel. One is a regular DVR camera and the other is our low lux camera. We want to capture the shadows that have been reported in that area. Finally, camera six is in the hallway in the back of the castle where there have been reports of a woman walking down their hallway."

Robb looked impressed with all the angles because he smiled. "Good work guys. I mean, this is awesome. How many opportunities do you get to investigate the supposed gate to hell?"

"Not too often." Barry replied with a short laugh.

The rest of us nodded and voiced our opinions. Everyone was ready to start investigating. Even though I had a funny feeling at the bottom of my stomach about this case, I was still ready to get going. I was very excited to start investigating to see what I could try and capture. I wasn't sure exactly how this case was going to play out so I decided to do what Joe had advised earlier and just go with the flow of things.

"Let's get lights out and then we can get started."

We split up in twos since Robb didn't really want any of us going out alone in the dark. Robb and Joe took off in one direction, Aisha and Barry in another which left Dustin and I to the last section together. The castle was different when the lights were still up. It was creepy, but tolerable. Once Dustin and I started shutting the lights off to the place, the weird factor rose to an unnerving level. Chills creeped up my spine and I felt like something was following me—and I didn't mean Dustin.

Dustin and I had almost finished shutting off all the lights when he stopped me in our last room. I stopped what I had previously been doing and turned to face him, so I could get a better look at him. He looked uneasy, troubled by something yet looking completely serious. The childish boy from the drive to Castle Houska was gone and was replaced by worried, protective Dustin. I knew exactly what the next words out of his mouth were going to be and when he opened his mouth to finally speak, I cut him off.

"Mercedes, I want—" he started.

I shushed him immediately, "I promise I'll be careful Dustin."

He looked surprised, "How did you know—"

I cut him off once more, "Because I _know_ you Dustin. Don't worry about me so much, alright? I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'll always be with one of you guys tonight as Robb has already said and my walkie will always be on me."

Dustin sighed, "I know you can take care of yourself but it doesn't stop me from being worried about you, baby. This is demonic entities we're talking about. You have to take this seriously."

"I am taking it seriously." I retorted angrily. "Don't start treating me like a child. I may be almost eight years younger than you and you may have more experience with things like that than I do but that doesn't mean I'm not taking this seriously."

His expression turned pained and I regretted my words immediately, "I wasn't trying to offend you, Mercedes. I wasn't implying that you couldn't handle this or that you weren't taking it seriously. I'm just worried. I'm actually terrified that something is going to happen to you tonight and I won't be able to do a damn thing about it. You can't blame me for being worried about you in this situation."

"Dustin, I'll be fine. Relax." I said in what I hoped was an assuring voice. "I promise."

Before I knew it, Dustin had leaned over and kissed my temple, forehead and cheeks before moving to kiss me chastely on the lips once. "You better." He sighed.

I nodded firmly. "You promise me something to. No provoking unless absolutely necessary. The last thing we need is to be overly worried about each other. Deal?"

"Deal." He said before kissing me on the mouth once more.

I pulled away from him and shut off the lights to the room we were in. "Come on, we need to get back down to central command."

And with that, we left the room.

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**Thoughts, comments? Let me know what you all think so far :)**


	21. GOH: Part 3 of 7

**Authors Note:**_ Sorry for the bit of a wait that was with this chapter, it's been a very hectic last few weeks. On weekends I doubt I've been home for more than a few hours a day! Anyways, I'm going to keep this authors note short and just ask you to enjoy this main part of the investigation!! This is where things start to get creepy. AND we've reached the time when I revealed the main overall song for the story: IT'S THE FEAR :) So enjoy!!_

_-RIP._

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**PLAYLIST:**

_It's The Fear_

- by –

Within Temptation

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**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 3 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

_**- Blatce, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

When we returned back to central command, we found Aisha and Barry standing with a dog by their sides. Barry was holding onto him with a thick blue leash. "Whose dog?" I asked.

"It's Ty's. He left him with us for us to investigate with later. Apparently the first time the dogs were brought in here to the castle, they went crazy mad when they entered the courtyard. Since dogs senses are way beyond a humans, we thought that this guy would be able to help us out tonight." Barry told me.

I smiled, "He's cute!"

Dustin frowned, "He's a Pitbull."

I shrugged, "So, he's still cute. Can I pet him?" I asked Barry.

"I don't see why not." Barry replied. "He's very friendly."

Aisha nodded, "When Ty brought him in a few moments ago he went bounding over to Barry without a second thought with his tongue hanging out. Poor Ty was getting dragged along." She laughed.

Barry nodded, "Ty says he's good with people. He shouldn't be a problem for us."

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Bobo." Barry replied.

"Awh!"

"Cute name, isn't it?" Aisha asked me.

"Yes!"

I walked over to Bobo with a grin on my face. I loved dogs. Some of the bigger ones scared me, especially Rottweiler's, but Bobo seemed so good natured and friendly. When he noticed that I was walking towards him, he started tugging on his leash slightly. Barry laughed and commented that Bobo seemed to like me. I smiled again before reaching down to scratch behind Bobo's ears. His tail started wagging in appreciation. Soon, I found myself sitting cross legged on the floor playing with him while Dustin looked on in surprise.

"We should get a stick and play tug of war with him." I suggested.

Dustin frowned even more, "He could bite you Mercedes."

I looked at Dustin in surprise. He seemed slightly unnerved by the dog's presence. "Do you have a thing against dogs or something? Bobo's nice. I don't think he'll bite me."

"No, it's not that…" he trailed off. "It's just, he's a Pitbull. They can be very mean."

I rolled my eyes at Dustin's over protectiveness. '_Didn't we just have this conversation?_' I thought sourly. I gave Dustin a warning look, '_Don't start_.' He seemed to get the message because he didn't comment anymore after that.

Robb and Joe returned just about then and I was relieved for the distraction. Robb announced that he, Barry and Dustin should probably start off with a sweep around the courtyard with Bobo. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to play with Bobo some more but relented. I also noticed that Dustin looked beyond relieved when I got up from the floor and Barry started leading Bobo away from me. Barry, Dustin, Robb and Bobo left shortly after which left Joe, Aisha and myself to watch the cameras.

"Do you think they'll find anything?" Aisha asked me.

I shrugged, "I really don't know." I said as Joe replied with an, "I hope so."

We ended up settling into another random conversation shortly after. It wasn't about anything in particular but if I had learned one thing about being on the GHI team, comments would be made out of mid-air and soon you would start having full-fledged conversations from that one comment. Aisha brought up the bar that we had visited back on Rathlin Ireland and commented that she wanted a rematch of pool against Robb since apparently he had cheated.

"Are you sure he cheated?" I asked Aisha teasingly. "Or are you just upset that you lost?"

Aisha glared, "Oh, he definitely cheated." She insisted.

I raised my hands. "I was just asking, I know how competitive you get sometimes."

"He cheated." She said simply, ignoring me.

"I'm sure we could find another good bar around here someplace. In fact, I know they have a couple good bars back at the hotel." Joe told us.

"Awesome!" Aisha cheered, throwing her fist in the air. "I definitely want a rematch so they better have a pool table."

We talked more about the bars in the hotel before the three boys and Bobo finally returned. When I saw Bobo, my face lit up. "Hi Bobo!" I cooed, running over to him. His tail started wagging again when he saw me. "Did you have fun with the boys?" I asked as I scratched behind his ears again.

"Res I rid." Robb replied for Bobo, speaking in a _Scooby Doo_ voice.

I giggled, "Scooby Doo?" I asked.

Robb nodded, "Of course."

"So what's the game plan now?" Aisha asked, cutting right to the chase. I knew she was very impatient to start investigating.

"Joe and I are going to check out the chapel area so why don't you and Dustin go down to the cellar to investigate." Robb told Aisha.

Aisha grinned, "Sweet, ready to go Dustin?" she asked.

Dustin nodded, "Sure."

With that, Dustin and Aisha disappeared down one of the corridors.

Robb turned to Barry and I. "Do you two mind staying here with the cameras and minding Bobo?"he asked.

"Sure, it's fine with me." I replied, hiding my disappointment in having to stay at central command again.

Barry nodded, "We'll be fine here. Yous go ahead."

Robb and Joe left shortly after. Barry and I took turns for the next hour and a half watching Bobo and watching the cameras. We talked while we sat there. Out of everyone, Barry was the person I spent the least amount of time with. It was nice to get to know Barry like I had the others. We talked about our lives back at home and Barry told me tales of where he lived in Ireland. Sometime during our conversation, Bobo had fallen asleep at our feet. Barry continued to talk about his niece, Zara and nephew, Timothy, whom he adored to pieces. By the time Robb and the others had returned, we were deep into a conversation about Zara and Timothy.

"Okay time for new teams." Robb said, interrupting mine and Barry's conversation.

I couldn't help but feel giddy. I prayed that I would actually be able to investigate now. It wasn't that I hadn't liked sitting at Central Command with Barry and Bobo, but I was ready for some action. I really didn't want to sit around all night.

"Okay, Mercedes, we can't have you sitting around here all night. You're the only one who hasn't investigated yet." Robb said thoughtfully. "Why don't you and Dustin head up to the attic, there is all sorts of reports up there."

I grinned, happy that I was finally able to investigate with my boyfriend. Ever since Cesky Krumlov when the guys and Aisha planned my surprise party, Dustin and I hadn't investigated together. I was kind of relieved actually that I would be with Dustin more than the other guys, especially since this place was apparently extremely dangerous. I didn't like the thought of me not being with _Dustin_ in case he got hurt.

'_Yeah, you heard me, I'm worried about Dustin not myself. I could care less about my own safety although I know the others would beg to differ with me_.' I thought. '_Call me paranoid if you want_.'

I know I was sounding extremely hypocritical considering I was getting angry just a few hours ago for Dustin being so over protective of me but this was a different situation. I wasn't going to patronize or provoke the spirits. I couldn't say the same for Dustin. Sure, I trusted Dustin and I wanted to believe that he wouldn't do anything to put himself in dangers path but I just didn't want something to happen again like Leap Castle. Dustin had told me that he would never make that mistake like that again and that I should trust him to be careful. I guess I should rephrase myself. It wasn't _him_ that I didn't trust, it was the _spirits_.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I told Robb, trying my best to ignore my worrisome thoughts.

Dustin, who was standing next to Robb, laughed at my eager expression. "Well, aren't we the eager beaver." he teased, nudging my shoulder slightly with his fist.

"Come on," I said, ignoring him.

We exited the room where we had set up central command and started towards the attic with Zach and Gavin following us with their cameras the entire way. I wasn't sure if they were recording yet, and I didn't really care. We cautiously climbed a large intricate stairway and reached a door at the top of the stairs.

When Dustin started to open it as I said, "Wow, I feel like Kristen Stewart during _The Messengers_. If hands start reaching from the floorboards for me, I'm leaving you."

Dustin turned around and raised an eyebrow, "The what?" he asked.

"_The Messengers_," I told him. "It's a movie, a horror film."

"Never heard of it." he told me truthfully.

I gasped, "Wow. You my friend…are very horror movie deprived."

Dustin rolled his eyes at me and continued into the attic, opening the door and shining his flashlight inside. He moved it around for a while, most likely taking in the area and seeing how safe it was for us to enter. He took a step inside and stumbled, "Shit!" he swore.

'_Oh no_.' I thought. My heart constricted in my chest. '_Something seriously couldn't have happened already. Could it? Damnit! Why did I make that _The Messengers_ reference_?'

"Dustin, are you alright?" I asked fearfully.

He turned around but I could barely make out his nodding head in the inky blackness. "I'm fine, there are some holes in the floor and I didn't see them. You be careful walking in here, okay?" he warned me as he started moving forward again.

"Okay,"

I stepped inside and my eyes took in the scene before me. I shined my flashlight around just as Dustin had done, "Oh, Dustin be careful, look at those floorboards up ahead." I pointed towards some uneven spots and holes further up ahead of us.

"Yeah, we should probably stay away from the middle parts then." Dustin commented.

"This is insane, it isn't safe at all!" I said as we slowly began to make our way further into the attic. We tried to stay as close to the walls of the attic as possible and turned our bodies to where we were moving sideways.

Dustin sighed, "Well, I've been in some crazy attics before but this one takes the cake." he told me, turning to face me.

We stood up there for about five or ten minutes getting a feel for the attic before Dustin asked me if I wanted to start an EVP session. I didn't see a problem with it so I pulled out the little black digital audio recorder from my blue peacoat and turned it on.

"EVP Session: Dustin and Mercedes in the attic," I said into the device.

Dustin and I were quiet for a while before I started asking question, "Okay, if there is anyone with us, we would like the talk to you. We aren't here to harm you. We just want to talk with you."

I wasn't going to lie, the room itself creeped me out. It was pitch black to where I could barely even make out Dustin's form which was not even a foot away from me. The air was growing gradually cooler around us and I started getting weird sensations in my spine that something did not want us to bother it.

"If you are with us tonight, will you please give us a sign of your presence?" Dustin asked calmly.

Suddenly a loud thump came from the blackest part of the attic. Dustin turned around quickly in the direction of the sound, shining his IR light from the mini-DV in the direction to help us see. Unfortunately, the light didn't help one bit.

"What the hell was that?" Dustin asked me. "Did you _hear_ that?!"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "I did hear it. Can you see anything?"

"Nah, I can't see a damn thing. It's too dark." he frowned, or at least I assumed he did. I couldn't exactly see him. But his tone of voice ended up giving him away. "But, I did hear something. Wow, that was so freaking cool." he said excitedly.

I got the creepy feeling in my spine again and couldn't stop myself from trembling slightly, "Dustin, there is something here. I can feel it." I said. "I don't like it either…" I mumbled quietly enough to where the neither cameras nor Dustin could here me.

"If you are a demon…if you are a dark spirit…" before Dustin even finished speaking, there was a small voice. I couldn't make out what it was saying because it wasn't very loud. I trembled once again and tried to step closer to Dustin's side without making it obvious to him that I was scared or to make anyone who would see this footage later be suspicious over my relationship with Dustin.

"Did you hear that sound again?" Dustin asked me after a few seconds. "It sounded like a growl." his tone of voice made him sound excited.

I closed my eyes and breathed in, "A growl…oh…" I said quietly.

'_How could he possibly be excited over something like this?_' I thought. '_I like hunting the paranormal, but this thing seems dangerous_.'

Dustin turned and looked at me, probably alarmed by the fear in my voice. I wasn't going to lie, I was extremely freaked out by what was happening. The feelings I were getting were ones of dread and evil. I wasn't sensitive, but this was hard to ignore. I _knew_ that what was here did not _want_ us here. I _knew_ that it was _evil_. I _knew_ that there was a possibility that we could have a repeat of Leap Castle if Dustin wasn't careful.

"Mercedes, you need to be extremely careful in this kind of situation." he told me firmly.

The tone of his voice was a protective one and I knew that he was just trying to keep me safe. I knew I was about to get another lecture from him but this time I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed by it. Maybe it was because I really needed to hear his voice. Maybe it was because I was scared. Maybe it was because I knew he was just trying to help. Or maybe, just maybe, I knew in that moment that he really _cared_ about me. Well, I mean it was obvious that he did anyways since we were dating and all, but this…_this_ was different. If I wouldn't have been frightened, I probably would have smiled at him.

"This stuff can be really, really tricky." he continued. "I'm being serious. I'd never B.S. you Ba—Mercedes…" I noticed that he started call me Baby again, he did that although without even realizing it but I'm glad this time he _did _realize it. The look on his face was one of alarm and surprise. His eyes searched mine and I nodded, motioning for him to keep on going. "These things—they can lure you one way, and then pop up someplace else. I'm still hearing all sorts of sounds coming from down there but that doesn't rule out the possibility that something could come up behind you. You need to be aware of your surroundings."

I glared at him slightly. He didn't have to add in the part of something popping up behind me…it wasn't necessary at all. "Yeah, I understand." I told him in an even voice.

He looked worried for a second before he whispered, "_We_ won't let anything bad happen to you, okay." The way he said '_we'_ let me know that he really meant '_I_'.

"I know," I mumbled.

"Just stay cool, but if you feel anything, let me know." He said, this time it was a bit louder. I subconsciously scooted closer to him until I could feel his jacket arm brush against the sleeve of my coat.

When he spoke again, it was into the empty space of the attic, "Can you please give me another sign. I need to know that you are here with us." he said. "Can you tell me what your name is? What are you doing here?" he paused. "Can you take human form? We'd like to see you. We want to document your presence. The owners want to know that you are really here."

I looked around and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a shadow. The whole place gave me the creeps—big time. But I knew I couldn't run out and I also knew that Dustin wouldn't let anything actually harm me. I felt a lot safer knowing he was right next to me. I closed my eyes because at that point, I didn't really want to be in the attic anymore but despite the fact that my eyes were closed, the image was what I had seen was burned into my brain. I tried my hardest to push it away. I didn't even want to think of what I had seen. But, I knew I needed to tell Dustin about the shadow anyways.

"C-can you do me a favor and look over there," I told Dustin, pointing in the direction I had seen the shadow. "I thought I saw someone…or something over there but I can't really…" I trailed off nervously.

"Over where?" Dustin asked.

"In the corner," I replied, pointing my finger again.

Dustin sighed in frustration and I momentarily wondered if he was getting upset with me, "I can't see a damn fucking thing…" he muttered. I frowned. He must have noticed the frown when the IR light from his camera fleetingly illuminated my face because his next words were an apology. "Sorry, I'm not angry at you Mercedes, I just can't see anything but that's not your fault. Which corner is it?" he asked me softly.

"The one that's straight behind us, over my shoulder." I told him.

He moved his camera and pointed it into the corner and I knew he probably still couldn't see anything. I wished that we had more light but the IR camera lights and our flashlights just couldn't penetrate through the inky blackness of this attic.

"What did it look like?" he asked me after a few moments of silence.

I brought of the picture of what I had seen earlier in my mind and began to explain it to him, "It was like a black figure that was even blacker than the blackness out there. It looked like a head with shoulders but it disappeared at the waist." I elucidated.

"Well, I'm not picking up a thing. All I can see is an even layer of blackness." he sighed once more.

I groaned, "Really?"

"Yeah, the camera can't pick anything up that far I guess. It's just too dark…" he pointed out again.

Suddenly, I got an idea. The IR lights on the filming cameras were ten times brighter than the ones on the mini-DVs. Maybe _it _could penetrate the darkness. I looked at Zach, who was standing closest to us. "Can you try shining your camera light into that corner? I just want to see if you're light is stronger."

"Good idea." Dustin said. "Why didn't I think of that?" he mused.

Zach tried shining his camera light into the corner but it didn't work well either. The light might have been brighter than the mini-DVs, but the attic was still pretty massive and even it couldn't brighten up the attic. "Sorry Mercedes, I don't think this is going to work." He said apologetically.

"It's alright," I replied shakily. "At least you tried."

I was pretty nervous at the moment. I couldn't stop myself from tucking my hair back and bringing my fingers to my mouth and chewing on my nails slightly. Like Dustin's wringing of his hands, running his hands through his hair and taking in massive amounts of water when he had a water bottle on him, I had nervous habits as well, they were just a little different. I tended to tuck my hair back and crew on my nails when I was nervous and at the moment, I was beyond nervous. I tried to calm my fears though. I told myself once again that everything was going to be okay and that I needed to be brave if I was going to stay with GHI. Nothing good would come from running out of the attic screaming my lungs out like a terrified little girl. My heart was racing in my chest as my eyes darted from corner to corner in the room still searching for that figure I had seen earlier.

"I think I saw you earlier." I said. "We're you trying to get my attention?" I tried my best to sound firm, but I'm sure you would hear that my voice was shaking slightly. After I finished speaking I brought my hand to my mouth again and just held it there.

Dustin took over, "Can you move something in this roo—holy shit! I just saw a shadow move down there." he told me.

"You did?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, just off to my right."

"Oh my…god…" I whimpered, putting my hands over my face and rubbing it slightly.

Dustin turned to me just as the Gavin and Zach started moving away from us to film the inky blackness of the back of the attic. He reached over and I felt his hand creep around my back, rubbing up and down in a slow motion. It wasn't in an odd way, although it did kind of sound like it would be, but it was actually in a comforting and reassuring way. I knew it was his way of telling me once again that everything was going to be okay. I smiled and relaxed a bit. He smiled back at me and gently moved his hand away just as the Zach and Gavin focused back on us.

Dustin bent down and picked up a rock from the attic floor and tossed it over towards the opposite side of the attic, "Can you do that?" he asked.

It was quiet for a while and I wasn't really expecting for anything to happen when suddenly, I heard a loud crash right down near mine and Dustin's feet. We both jumped. Dustin flattened himself against the wall of the attic while I pressed myself into his side, grabbing his hand tightly in mine in the process. At the moment, I didn't give a shit about the cameras.

"Y-yo, yo, yo! Did you hear that?" he stuttered loudly in surprise.

I brought my hand to my mouth moved to where my back was partly to the cameras and was hiding mine and Dustin's entwined hands. I let out a tiny squeak and tightened my hand around Dustin's. I felt him squeeze back at he said, "It sounded as if someone threw something back at us…" he whispered in astonishment.

I shined my flashlight to the floor and my eyes landed on a medium sized rock down by our feet, right where I had heard the sound. "U-uhm, Dustin…" I said uneasily.

"Yeah?" he asked. He was still looking to where the sound had originated from, or rather where he thought the thing was that had made the noise.

I tugged on his hand, "Y-your rock…I think I found it."

His head twisted around in surprise as I gestured with my free hand to the floor where the rock was. "That is your rock, right? I k-knew the sound came from down by m-my feet and there is a r-rock down there. Just like the one that you th-threw." I stuttered in shock.

"W-whoa, wow, wow, wow…" he repeated over and over again. "That was so cool."

I squeaked again in surprise. I didn't think it was so cool. I didn't like the fact that whatever was there had almost hit me with a rock.

"Okay," Dustin said finally. "It looks almost as if we have ourselves a ballgame."

"Yeah,"

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Dustin asked me.

I snorted slightly, "No…never in my _life_ have I ever experienced something like this before." I told him truthfully.

I was kind of hoping that Dustin would want to leave soon. I felt as if the rock was a warning for us to leave and get out. But, Dustin didn't think so because he spoke and said, "I want some video on this. I'm going to see if Barry will come up here with us."

I released Dustin's hand from my tight grasp and he reached into his pocket and took out his walkie, "Hey, I have moving objects up here. I'm gonna need you up here, Brotha."

"_Go ahead Dustin_," Barry's voice said through the mic of the walkie.

"I don't really know what you have going on bro, but Mercedes and I have some really good activity going on up here in the attic and I need you to bring your full spectrum camera up here." Dustin replied. "It's too dark. We can't see a thing with the IR."

Barry sighed, "_Okay Dustin, I'll be right up_."

It took a few minutes for Barry to get up to the attic. I heard a door open to my left and I could just barely make out Barry's form entering the attic. Dustin and I verbally decided to warn him of the holes in the ceiling and how it was unstable. He appreciated our warning and carefully made his way over to us before setting up his precious camera, as I liked the call it. It honestly was one of his favorite pieces of equipment and usually helped us a ton when it came to catching things visually.

I was still trembling slightly from a little bit of fear when Barry looked me over, "Hey, Mercedes, why don't you head back downstairs. You and Joe can hang out at central for a while."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. As much as I didn't really want to leave Dustin, I also wanted to get the hell out of that attic. I gave Dustin a long glance before I turned back to Barry and nodded, "Okay."

Once again like earlier before I heard the rock being thrown at us, I felt Dustin's palm making contact with my lower back, signaling it was okay for me to leave. If I knew Dustin at all, he was probably relieved that I was leaving just because he was worried something was going to happen.

"It's probably safer if you leave anyways…we won't be that long." Dustin reassured me, confirming my previous thoughts and keeping his warm palm firmly against my back.

"Okay." I pulled away from his touch and carefully made my way over back to the attic door.

Just as I was about the exit, I turned and saw both Dustin and Barry were watching to make sure I had made it past all the holes and broken boards carefully. The light of the cameraman's camera and two mini-DV's plus Barry's full spectrum gave them a little more light and I could at least make out their faces and torso's through the darkness.

I gave them a thumbs up and a smile, "Good luck guys, be careful." I said seriously.

Dustin grinned at me before he turned around and he and Barry started messing with the cameras. I scurried out of the attic quickly after that and walked at a brisk pace back to the central command at the main flood of the castle. When I entered, Joe was sitting down on one of the plastic fold-up chairs with his arms folded behind my head.

I reached into my purse which was sitting on one of the chairs and dug out my cell phone, checking the time. I couldn't believe how long Dustin and I had been in the damn attic. What had seemed like less than an hour had actually been almost two. The time read '_2_:_13am' _It was still pretty early in the morning and we probably wouldn't wrap up until around 4am. We still had a while.

Joe frowned when he noticed my presence, "Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." he said playfully. I knew he was trying to lighten me up a bit.

I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding, "Yeah, I'm fine…just…a bit nervous. There was some pretty crazy stuff going on in the attic." I said.

"Like what?" Joe asked curiously.

"Well," I started...

I ended up telling Joe the entire story of what had happened in the attic. I told him about how I was a little scared and told him about the feelings I had felt while Dustin was prodding the spirit for answers. Of course I left out all the small interactions between Dustin and I but other than that, I told Joe every single little detail. He listened well as always, making nods and asking questions ever so often. I had come to realize Joe was someone you just could talk to no matter what, he was a fantastic listener.

After I told him what all went on up in the attic, we paid more attention to the cameras that were set up on the monitor and just talked about random things. He told me about his experiences he and Robb had while they were in they were investigating. We talked about how we felt about the castle and neither of us could deny that the place had a creepy feel and seemed to have activity.

I heard light footsteps coming from one of the corridors, "What is that?" I asked voice.

"One of the team members?" he replied, but his voice held an air of question.

I slowly got up and walked towards the corridor where I heard the footsteps while Joe stayed at central command. I wasn't planning on going very far so it wasn't really necessary to have an investigator buddy. I inched my way down the hallway as the footsteps got louder, it was a single pair and they were headed towards me.

"Hello?" I whispered.

* * *

**Thoughts? I love reviews!! :)**


	22. GOH: Part 4 of 7

**Authors Note:** _I am terribly, terribly sorry for the really late update but there has been some major personal things going on in my life lately that I've been having to deal with. I won't get into them though. All that matters is that I have you're brand spanking new chapter right here, hot off the editting press :) ha, that was pretty cheesy. Anyways, this chapter is a bit on the long side (over 7,000 words) but I hope you enjoy. The next chapter after this one just happens to be one of my favorites so you should all be very excited for it. Also I'd like to address the lack of recent reviews. For the first chapter of the segment I recieved seven reviews but for the last two chapters I've only recieved two reviews for each :( I hope that that changes. If I can get five reviews by tomorrow evening, I'll post the new chapter tomorrow night. Up to the challenge?_

_-RIP._

* * *

Afraid

- by –

Yellowcard

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 4 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

**- Blatce, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**

_I heard light footsteps coming from one of the corridors, "What is that?" I asked voice._

_"One of the team members?" he replied, but his voice held an air of question. _

_I slowly got up and walked towards the corridor where I heard the footsteps while Joe stayed at central command. I wasn't planning on going very far so it wasn't really necessary to have an investigator buddy. I inched my way down the hallway as the footsteps got louder, it was a single pair and they were headed towards me. _

_"Hello?" I whispered._

* * *

The footsteps stopped, "Who's there?"

I sighed in relief. I knew the voice.

"It's me!" I called out.

The footsteps sounded up again only this time a little quicker. Within seconds I felt two arms wrap around my waist and a pair of lips crush themselves against my own. Despite the fact that I wasn't expecting it so the force of the kiss and the man throwing himself at me caught me off guard, I couldn't bring myself to push them away. The way their lips felt on mine was just too amazing. We were both surrounded by darkness and there weren't any cameras around so I happily wrapped my arms around my attacker's neck and kissed them back greedily.

I parted my lips and gently slid my tongue out of my mouth before hesitantly running it against the edge of their lips. They opened their mouth for me slowly and before I knew it, our tongues were winding together, fighting for dominance. This was the first kiss I had ever had of this much…passion. Sure I had kissed guys before, I had done more than just kiss guys before, but it felt absolutely nothing like this. This, this was different…a good different. It felt completely and utterly amazing and unlike anything I had ever felt before.

I tried to breathe through my nose for as long as possible but before long I couldn't hold it any longer. I pulled back and rest my head against the chest of my offender, hugging them to me.

"Hey, hey, hey…Baby, are you okay?" He whispered in an out-of-breath voice. He took in a deep breath of air and then I felt Dustin's breath swirl around my face as he exhaled. I breathed in deeply, partly to take in his scent and partly was because I was still trying to catch my breath from our kiss.

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"After you left, Barry's full spectrum camera started taking its own pictures and we saw this huge black mass dart from one end of the attic to the other. I mean—up there—I don't even know what happened but damn, that was some pretty crazy shit." Dustin said. I couldn't really see him, but I could just image him running at hand through his spiky hair as he spoke.

I nodded against his chest, "I know, that was completely insane."

"Were you scared?" Dustin teased, playing with my hair.

I looked up and narrowed my eyes at him. "God damn Dustin, what was your first clue? When I was trembling like a little girl or when I fucking jumped you." I spat.

I was a little upset. I would have figured he knew that I was scared and upset. I wouldn't have been so angry if it hadn't have been for his tone of voice. I couldn't exactly see his face through the darkness so I started to pull myself away from his arms. Unfortunately, he realized what I was trying to do and tightened his arms, caging me in.

"Hey!" Dustin exclaimed quietly, bringing one of his hands up to cradle my face while he kept the other wrapped tightly around my waist. It was sad that I couldn't pull away when only one of his arms was holding me. He was too strong. He brought my face close to his and once again I could barely make out his features in the darkness. Refusing to look at him, I shifted my eyes away from him completely.

"Don't do that." he pleaded with me.

I huffed quietly.

"Look, I didn't mean that in any sort of bad—" I cut him off.

I hissed out my next reply, "Don't you dare lie to me Dustin Pari." I whispered. "I heard that tone of voice that you used and I'm not stupid. Do you think it was funny that I was scared? Damnit Dustin, I've never experienced anything like that. I've never dealt with demons or inhuman spirits before. Forgive me if I was just a little scared."

"Mercedes you know that if I could have done something to make you feel better, I would have. I tried my best. But I couldn't do much and you know that. If I would have done anything more people would start to question us and I don't want to go publicizing our private relationship on national television to have people pick us apart!" Dustin argued back.

I sighed and pulled my face free from his hands and turned away, facing the opposite direction.

"Maybe this is a bad idea…" I muttered.

I heard him gasp behind me, he wasn't meant to have heard that but I guess he did anyways.

"What are you talking about?" Dustin asked fretfully. "Are you saying that we shouldn't be together?" his voice cracked slightly.

This time it was my turn to take a sharp intake of breath, "No! That's not what I meant at all," I took in a deep breath before continuing, "Maybe keeping everything a secret was a bad idea. I mean, Lucinda and Ayden already know and we were being really careful around all of my family. This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be. I already fucked up once tonight and then earlier…shit! What if someone would have walked in on us Dustin? We weren't exactly in a private room?" I replied sadly with a hint of annoyance entwining my voice.

Dustin groaned, "Do you want me to say that I'm sorry for kissing you like that? Because I'm not going to because I definitely do not regret doing it." he told me, while pacing his hands on my upper arms.

"Mercedes?" Joe's voice called out, interrupting our moment.

Dustin and I broke apart immediately. "We should head back. Where is Barry?" I asked.

"He'll be down soon I think." Dustin replied.

We walked the short ways back to Command Central and found Joe sitting in his seat looking slightly distressed. "There you are." He said as he stood up, sounding relieved when Dustin and I came around the corner. "When you didn't come back right away I got worried. You forgot your walkie." Joe handed me the walkie that I had left sitting on the table.

I groaned and brought my hand to my forehead, "Are you shitting me? I can't believe I left it here."

Joe sighed, "It's okay, just try not the do it again. That could have been very dangerous if you hadn't just went down the hallway." He said. "But, I see that you found the source of the footsteps?"

"Yes, it was just Dustin." I giggled.

About that time, Robb walked in with Aisha and Barry. I knew that it was probably time to switch teams again. I didn't really have a problem with it—as long as I didn't have to go back to that damn attic. That was one place I would never really be partial to visiting again. Thankfully, I was going to be able to investigate as far away from the attic as possible. Robb decided that Joe and I were going to investigate what many referred to as, Satin's Office. The name sounded creepy but after that attic, I would go there willingly.

Joe decided to start the digital recorder before actually entering the office. He said our names, time and where we were going before actually entering the room. There was a wooden door that opened up into a room that was underground, a basement if you will. A set of narrow wooden stairs lowered down into the dark room. I could barely see my hand in front of my face without using my flashlight. I heard a creak on the stairs before I heard Joe speak, "Careful walking down these. They don't look very stable."

I made it all the way down the stairs without incident until the very last stair. The drop was more than I had anticipated and I lost my footing. Thankfully I caught myself before I was actually able to embarrass myself even more by landing on my face. "Shit!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah," Joe said, trying to hold back his laughter after he realized I was okay.

Once we were actually inside the room and on level ground, I shined my flashlight and mini-DV light around to get a better look at the place. The room was completely made of dark stone and had all sorts of metal pieces of furniture, equipment, torture devices—well to be honest I wasn't exactly sure what they were but I hoped it wasn't that last one. The light finally shone on some sort of giant chair.

"Wait, is that a—throne?" I asked incredulously.

Joe nodded, "Yeah I think so. It's known as Satan's chair I believe."

I gasped, "No, that's just sick!"

"It's really freaky, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, this is six kinds of weird."

We approached the chair, trying to get a better look at it. "Oh my god, it has horns!" I exclaimed.

Joe chuckled, "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder doesn't it?"

"You're telling me."

"Do you want to start an EVP session?" he asked.

I waved my hand for him to go ahead.

"Is there anyone down here tonight that would like to communicate? My name is Joe and this is my friend Mercedes. If you have a message that needs to be told, why don't you tell us?" Joe said. "We'd love to listen."

While Joe was speaking, I went to go look at some of the metal things by the 'Devil Chair' or whatever you wanted to call it. I found old vases and what looked like pots, which I found pretty surprising. What the hell were they doing in a basement? There was also a large chamber pot hanging from the ceiling by a large metal chain. All in all, everything I kept finding was getting weirder and weirder.

During my expedition, Joe was still talking. "…do something to show us that you are here. You can move an object inside the room, touch one of us, you can whisper in our ear, anything you can do to let us know that you want to be known."

We weren't getting any sort of response so Joe decided that he wanted to sit in Satin's Chair. I have to say, he has more guts than I do because you couldn't pay me enough to sit in that chair. That was just a little too weird for me. I prefer to stand thank you very much.

"I hope I don't break it." Joe muttered.

I giggled, "I don't think you will." I assured him.

Suddenly, a loud clanking sound came from the wall in between Joe and I. It was loud, sudden and shocked the hell out of both of us. We both jumped at heard the loud banging sound. Quickly, I shined my lights in the direction that I heard the sound coming from. "What was that?" Joe asked.

"I have no—" I cut myself off mid sentence when I saw that the chamber pot that I had been checking out earlier was swaying back and forth, hitting the wall softly. With enough force, it could have made the same sound as the bang we had heard. But what on earth could have moved it. In fact, why was it still moving? "Did you touch that?" I demanded, pointing at the chamber pot.

Joe looked startled, "Well no I—I didn't."

Just as he said that, the chamber pot stopped moving all together. I gasped and looked at the thing with wide eyes. Not even believing what I had been seeing. It was just so insane, crazy and literally nothing I had seen before. The investigations Aisha and I had led back in the states were nothing compared to this. "Wow, dude that was pretty cool." I said.

"Is there anyone down here with us?" Joe asked.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a whisper came from my right.

"What was that? Did you hear that?" I demanded.

"I definitely heard that." Joe said.

I sighed, "When it's pitch black like this I can't tell where anything is coming from. It's disorienting." Looking around, I shone my mini-DV in different directions, trying to figure out where the whisper had come from. "Can you say whatever you said louder?" I asked. "We thought we heard you but couldn't tell what you said."

"Do you have a message for us?" Joe asked.

The voice sounded again, this time louder and from my left side, not my right.

I spun around quickly, "I heard it again!"

"I feel really creeped out right now." Joe told me truthfully. "Something doesn't feel quite right."

Swallowing thickly, I tried to bundle my nerves together. No use showing the public just how freaked out I was by this. Then again, if Joe was scared—then that's saying something. I always thought that the guys were fearless but after seeing Dustin jump against the wall and Joe readily tell me that he was actually kind of scared, I was thinking differently. As I was looking down at my feet, trying to get my wits back together, the voice sounded again—this time behind me.

I spun around and was met with empty space, "Jesus Christ!" I cursed. "That was right behind me!"

"These things—they can lure you one way, and then pop up someplace else. I'm still hearing all sorts of sounds coming from down there but that doesn't rule out the possibility that something could come up behind you. You need to be aware of your surroundings." Dustin warning from earlier rung in my head and suddenly I was thankful for his warning as it seemed to be playing out before me at that very moment.

"It's playing with us." Joe commented darkly from where he was seated.

I narrowed my eyes, "Yeah, it is probably because it's too much of a damn coward to actually show itself and do something. Am I right?" I said angrily.

This thing was actually starting to piss me off. The angrier I got, the less fear I felt. This thing was leading us in circles, toying with us and not actually doing anything meaningful. It was enjoying it's game but was too fearful to actually do anything big. I knew it was dangerous probing it like this and I was going back on all I said about provoking something in this castle. I know knew how the boys felt when they were provoking. It just happened. You got so riled up, so frustrated with a mischievous spirit that everything just came pouring out and before you knew it, you were provoking.

"This place is really, really creeping me out. It's not as bad as the attic but—I don't know, it's getting there." I commented.

Joe nodded, "I'm actually feeling a bit lightheaded standing here."

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

The last thing I needed was for Joe to collapse on me here. That would not be good—at all. Plus, not only was he my team member and the only other person down here in this cellar with me, but he was my friend. He was quiet for a moment and my head started pounding in my ears. When he finally spoke, I let out some air that I didn't even realize I had been holding.

"Yeah, I'm—it's better now. I just felt really dizzy there for a moment."

We stayed down in the dungeon for at least another half hour before deciding that whatever had been there toying with us, was gone. For a little while after Joe's dizzy spell, the creepiness remained. But slowly and surely, the heaviness let up and it was just a creepy attic. The darkness and overwhelming sense of doom was just—gone. Poof. It had just disappeared into thin air. Neither Joe nor I had an explanation for it.

"Do you wanna head back to command now? I think whatever was here has left." Joe asked me.

"Sure, let's see if anyone else got anything."

Joe said one last thing before we left the cellar, "We're leaving and we thank whatever was here for your time. We hope you spoke with us."

As I climbed the last step to get to the top of the attic, I felt a brush against the back of my neck. It was cold, wispy and felt like a spider web. It sent shivers and chills all the way down my spine and to my toes. Shaking it off as nerves, I continued walked through the doorway and shut the heavy door behind me with a thud.

"Alright everyone, let's all head back to command central and start getting things packed up. Let's get these lights back up, equipment torn down and then head for home. Good work tonight guys." Robb's voice came through the walkie in Joe's jacket.

"Let's go, Joe."

* * *

Clean up never takes quite as long as set up. Taking down the cameras, un-taping the wires, and putting the monitors back in their cases was a breeze. We made quick work of getting all the equipment back into the vans. Everyone was tired and ready to get back to the hotel to sleep. I felt bad to Robb, Barry and Will who had to drive the freakin' vans nearly an hour back to the hotel before they could crash. At least the rest of us could sleep on the way there.

I was getting ready to climb into the van and get settled in for the ride home when Robb's tired voice called out to me. "Mercedes, do you want to say goodbye to Bobo?" he asked, partly teasingly, partly serious.

"Yeah, sure." I said.

Walking back into the building, I found Robb standing with Ty and Bobo. When Bobo saw me, he perked up and waddled right over to me. I crouched and scratched his ears like I had been doing all night and cooed to him. "I'm going to miss you, boy. You're so sweet."

"You've seemed to take a good liking to him." Ty commented with a laugh. "He seems to really like you too." he added as Bobo nuzzled my hands.

I nodded and looked up at the man before me, "Bobo's a sweetheart."

I patted Bobo's back once last time before I stood up, "Bye Bobo. You be a good boy for Ty."

Bobo whined, almost as if he knew I was leaving and he probably wouldn't be seeing me again. I made a mental note to ask Aisha if we could buy a dog when we returned to the states after GHI was done investigating and filming. It'd be nice to have some more company in the house.

Ty let out a booming laugh, "Bobo's never a problem. He's the friendliest Pitbull I've met in my entire life."

"Thanks for letting us include him on the investigation tonight." Robb said sincerely.

Ty grinned, "It's not a problem at all. I think he had a really good time."

Robb and I said goodbye to Ty and I gave Bobo one final pat on the head before we left for the vans. I was a little sad because over the night, I really had gotten attached to Bobo. It was stupid but I had. Robb patted my arm, almost as if he knew what I was thinking. "It'll be okay Mercedes." He said, trying to hold back his laughter.

I shoved him off me in fake anger, "Shut up, Robb."

His laughter rang through the front yard of the castle before we got into the vans. I met a pair of tired green eyes as I crawled sleepily into the back seat. His eyes were apologetic and I knew he was apologizing for what had went down in the hallway after the whole attic incident. Dustin and I needed to have a serious talk but I knew that needed to wait until we were both coherent and alone. I didn't have any plans to break up with him anytime soon and he definitely needed to know that. But if we really were going to keep our relationship a secret, we needed to do a better job at being secretive about it. At the moment, we were trying to be discrete, but not discrete enough. If we couldn't be discrete about it, then we needed to let the others know because it wasn't fair for them to find out by accidently overhearing one of our conversations or walking in on us making out.

"Do I even want to know what happened out there?" Dustin asked me.

I shook my head, "Nope."

Thankfully Dustin played some relaxing music on the way back from Castle Houska. The calming voices of Muse, Bright Eyes, Coldplay and Death Cab For Cutie nearly put me to sleep during the hour long drive. Other than the music playing, the car ride was completely silent. I was happy that this go around didn't involve any arguing, fighting, teasing or tattling—just pure music and silence.

When we finally arrived to the hotel, it was almost daylight. All of us were simply exhausted but we lugged the equipment to Robb's room (You don't expect us to really leave all that equipment in the vans overnight, do you?) before finally being told to get some well deserved shut eye. As always, we would have the entire next day to sleep in and just relax. Everyone had already decided that if we were up for it, we'd do a little sight-seeing in the afternoon, have dinner and then go to a bar that evening.

When I finally made it to my room and unlocked the door, I quickly changed into my pajamas before settling into bed. I was so tired. It was nearly 6am now, the light was peaking in through the windows in my hotel room but at the moment, I really didn't give a shit. I was just too tired. I sent Dustin my customary goodnight text and was about to turn my phone off when I got a text back from him.

**From: Dustin**

**Tonight's investigation went great. You did good, Baby. Sorry for being so over protective. Goodnight. Sleep well. **

– **Dustin**

I smiled at the sweet text before finally turning my phone off. I placed it on my nightstand table before pulling the covers up around me and finally lying down in bed. The room was completely dark but it didn't hold the heaviness that the castle had carried. In fact, my room felt comfortable. I yawned before turning over and snuggling with my pillow. I fell into a deep sleep after that. I probably couldn't have even told you what I dreamed about if you asked me.

* * *

**- Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**

A loud pounding sound on my door woke me up the next morning, or rather afternoon. I moaned and rolled over in bed, sleepily looking at the clock. I was surprised when I found that it was 1:30 in the afternoon. I shot up and ran over to the door, knowing exactly who was behind it. I also knew that ignoring it wasn't an option. Once opening the door, I was met with Aisha's dark brown eyes and sarcastic grin.

"May I help you?" I asked curtly, kind of pissed that she had woke me up.

Aisha tapped her foot impatiently with her arms held behind her back. It was then that I noticed she was fully dressed and ready for the day. Her hair was wild and all over the place but I knew she had fixed it like that. She had probably taken a shower then blow dried it to give it that volumized look. She was wearing a white tank top with a ballerina and some phrase written in French on it, Bermuda shorts and a pair of black Puma's. Her outfit was very simple, yet still really cute. I on the other hand was nowhere near ready to go out in public. Aisha brought one of her hands out from behind her back and presented me a steaming cup of coffee.

"You can thank me later, sweetie." She said simply. "Robb was going to come down here and embarrass the fuck out of you but I figured I'd save both you and him the trouble and wake you myself. Plus I brought you you're damn coffee. Dontcha' love me?" Aisha asked, batting her eyelashes at me innocently.

I rolled my eyes and opened my door wider so she could come in. As always, Aisha waltzed right in like she owned the place. With the warm cup of coffee in hand, I plopped down on my bed while Aisha curled up in my armchair.

"So what's the plan for today?" I asked.

Aisha smirked, "I talked Robb into letting us go to all the places that we talked about yesterday before the investigation. Basically this afternoon we're participating in the tourist trap that is Prague and then tonight we're going to the club that's here in the hotel. From what I've heard, it's the fucking shit." She said simply.

"Do you have to cuss so much?" I asked.

Aish usually kept her cussing down to a minimum. She toned it down for my sake but every once in a while, she forgot and started cussing like a sailor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a goodie two shoes but I don't go sprouting out the word 'fuck' every five seconds either. Aisha came from a family that always had been taught to always speak their minds, whether it be good or bad. Sure, her family was nice and I loved them like my own but sometimes their conversations got a little bit too raunchy for me.

Groaning, Aisha realized her mistake, "Sorry. I just got off the phone with Zavier earlier and you know how he is." She said, referring to her younger brother.

"Well that explains a lot." I murmured with a smile.

Javier, Aisha's younger brother, had the dirtiest mouth I had ever heard in my entire life. I wasn't sure if he did it because he thought it was cool or because it was just a habit but some of the things he said were ridiculous. Carmen, Aisha's mom, usually got after him for it but Luis, Aisha's father, thought it was hilarious and usually encouraged him.

"You know Javier means well." Aisha giggled.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say."

Aisha changed the subject to get me up and moving and ready for the day. "Come on! Up, up, up!" she squealed. "You need to get ready so we can get going already!"

Not arguing with her, I got up from my position on the edge of the bed and headed for the shower. I took a quick one and returned from the bathroom about ten minutes later with a towel wrapped around me only to find my hotel room empty. I looked around in confusion because I figured that Aisha probably would've stuck around. I shook it off and quickly got dressed for the day. June weather in Prague was relatively warm so I put on a black t-shirt that featured a pair of vampire fangs and a pair of blue jean shorts before slipping on my crimson and black colored sneakers to match.

After throwing my hair into a high ponytail, I decided that I was completely ready to go. I pulled out my phone and called Aisha. I figured that I would head to her room since I still wasn't completely sure on today's events. Unfortunately I had to listen to 'Hot Revolver' by Lil Wayne—her ringback tone—and then was sent straight to voicemail.

"Hey this is Aisha, I can't answer my phone right now but leave a message!" her automated voice chirped through the phone.

I looked down at my phone in complete surprise. It was rare that Aisha ever let her phone go unanswered, even if she was sleeping. But instead of worrying about it too much, I let it go and decided to go down to Robb's room. I grabbed my phone, camera, sunglasses and room key, just in case I didn't return to my room. When I reached Robb's room, he opened the door for me with a smile and let me in.

"Now we're only missing Aisha and Barry…" Robb muttered as I walked into the room. "I could have sworn I heard Aisha prancing down the halls earlier."

"She probably was," I stopped and turned around to face him as he looked down the hallway for a sign of Aisha or Barry. "She came and woke me up and told me to take a shower but when I got out of the shower, she was gone and when I tried to call her phone, she didn't answer." I explained.

"Maybe we should go look for them? It's been over two hours since we've heard from either of them." Joe said from behind me, startling me half to death. I turned around and looked at Joe in surprise because I hadn't even noticed that he had been standing behind me, consequently why I got so freaked out when he spoke. "Good afternoon, Mercedes." He greeted me with a large grin when I was able to gather my wits again.

"Afternoon Joe."

Robb and Joe gestured me further into the room where I found Dustin slouched in the armchair looking at some type of brochure with his earphones in, listening to his IPod. It was so cute because every once in a while, he would bob his head to the beat without actually noticing it. I felt my heart start into overdrive as I took him in. He was wearing a grey Providence t-shirt, cargo shorts and tennis shoes. Even though he was dressed so simply, I couldn't help but admit he looked hot. 'You think he looks hot all the time!' My conscious yelled at me as I thought this. Taking another look, I also caught sight of some kind of tattoo on his left calf. 'He has a tattoo?' I thought in surprise.

"Mercedes?" Robb said, breaking me from my ogling of my boyfriend. I turned to see him and Joe both looking at me.

"Yeah?"

"We're going to go look for Aisha and Barry. You and Dustin can stay in here, that way we don't end up losing you two too. We'll also leave the door unlocked just in case one of them show up." Robb told me.

I nodded, "Alright."

As the words left my mouth, I finally registered just exactly what they had said. "…missing Aisha and Barry… over two hours since we've heard from either of them… We're going to go look for Aisha and Barry…"

A small memory popped back into my head, back at the Wicklow's Gaol investigation that up until that moment I had completely forgotten about. The tape that I had found, the one where I found out Dustin's true feelings for me, as well as Aisha and Barry's conversation…

"Are there any others around?"

There was most rustling before Barry replied, "No, I think the others are inside still."

"Good," Aisha murmured, "Because I like this, a lot."

"Me too."

'Maybe Aisha and Barry were together like Dustin and I are, but aren't telling anyone.' I thought.

I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about the tape and those conversations that I had found on them. After getting together with Dustin, it seemed like all that stuff had taken a back seat because we had been so worried about people finding out about us. That was something else I needed to talk to Dustin about. Aisha hadn't said anything but maybe Barry had confided in Dustin about their relationship.

Joe and Robb left sometime during my musing. I heard the door softly bang against the doorframe since the lock was sticking out, keeping it from shutting completely, which brought me from my thoughts. Once I knew they were completely gone, I walked over to my unsuspecting boyfriend and settled on the edge of the armchair. We had a lot to talk about. He jumped and looked up in surprise, obviously not hearing my earlier approach. When he saw that it was just me, he smiled and removed his earphones before leaning over to give me a kiss. I kissed him chastely on the lips before reminding him that we still needed to talk about what had happened last night during the investigation.

Dustin sighed and ran his hands over his face before speaking, "Okay…"

I giggled and pulled his hands off his face, "Don't look so scared, Dustin." I said. "It's nothing bad."

"It's not?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No. I just wanted to finish our conversation for last night before Joe found us." I told him.

Dustin's face immediately relaxed. "Oh, okay." He faced me completely, giving me his full attention.

"We can't do what we did last night again." I said simply, referring to our pretty intense kiss we had in the hallway. "It's completely unprofessional of us to do that, especially since we're keeping our relationship from everyone."

"I know. What's sad is that we've already had this conversation many times about remaining professional on investigations. I honestly don't know what came over me. I just—everything was so intense and you were scared and—I don't know. I've never acted like that before in my entire life. I can't believe…" he trailed off and sobered up. "You're completely right. I promise they'll be no more funny business."

I pressed my index finger lightly against his lips. "Alright, as long as we understand each other." I said with a laugh at his obvious nervous rambling. "Also, do you remember that tape that I found during the Wicklow's Gaol analysis, the one where you and Barry were talking about Aisha and I."

Dustin nodded, obviously confused about where I was going with this.

"Well, I was wondering if Barry has said anything more to you about them. Aisha hasn't said a word." I said.

"To tell you the truth, I forgot all about that conversation until you brought it up. Barry hasn't mentioned Aisha in a romantic sense since the first investigation. Maybe they got over their infatuations and decided to remain professional." Dustin explained.

I shrugged, "I really don't know. But both of them are missing right now and Joe said that they haven't heard from them in over two hours. You probably didn't hear because you were listening to your IPod but…"

His mouth dropped open in surprise. "You don't think that they're, well you know…" he trailed off, blushing.

I smacked his arm, "No they aren't off having sex Dustin!" I exclaimed. "Jesus, you would think that a thirty one year old man who cracks naughty cereal jokes and checks out my ass when I bend over would be able to say the word 'sex'." I muttered.

"Woah, how did you know I check out your—" He stopped, embarrassed even further. I noticed his ears starting to turn pink.

Rolling my eyes at him I spoke, "Dustin—that was one of the conversations I overheard on the tape. Barry made a comment about you needing a cold shower and you agreed."

"I'm sorry if I offended you…" Dustin apologized.

I shook my head, "I'm not offended in the slightest." I said truthfully as I leaned over to kiss him. We savored the kiss for a few moments before pulling away, grinning at each other like teenagers.

Dustin sobered quickly, as if remembering our previous topic. "Do you really think they're together right now though?" he asked me.

"I don't know."

"If Robb and Joe catch them together, it won't be good." Dustin said.

I nodded, "I know, but I don't think they'd be as stupid as to do something like that. Who knows, they might not even be together, just like you said."

"Yeah…"

After that conversation ended, I left my perch on the side of his chair and sat on the edge of the bed, just in case Robb and the others came back soon. I picked up the brochure that Dustin had been looking at and eyed it carefully. It was a brochure for things to do in Prague. I laughed and handed him his brochure back.

"Why are you looking up things to do? I'm pretty sure Aisha and Robb have already collaborated and got a complete schedule down for us." I asked him.

Dustin shrugged, "I don't know, I was curious."

Suddenly, the door flew open, banging against the side of the wall loudly. I was suddenly really glad that I had moved to sit on the bed instead of on the arm of the chair where I had practically sitting in Dustin's lap. Dustin and I looked over at the door to the hotel room in surprise and saw Barry standing there looking slightly out of breath and confused.

"You alright there, Barry?" Dustin asked, taking in Barry's appearance, which was slightly ruffled.

Barry took a few deep breaths before nodding, "Yes, I'm quite alright. Just overslept and I'm looking for Robb. Where is he?"

'Well that just overruled every theory of them doing the nasty together.' I thought. 'Unless he was lying…' I met Barry's eyes and stared at him suspiciously. He didn't look like he was lying so I let it drop.

Dustin chuckled, "He and Joe are looking for you and Aisha, man."

"Aisha?" Barry asked confused.

I nodded, "Yeah, she kind of disappeared on me earlier. Robb and Joe thought that she might've been with you."

Barry's face was expressionless as he shook his head, "I haven't seen her since the investigation last night."

"Oh, well maybe she went back to her room." I said.

"I can go lo—" Barry started to say but I knew exactly what his words were going to be so I cut him off to try and discourage his obvious idea. "It's probably better if you stay here, that way we aren't playing an unintentional game of 'hide-n-go-seek' when the others show up."

Barry sighed, "I guess you're right." He agreed reluctantly as he took a seat next to me on the edge of the bed.

"So are you ready for the day that Robb and Aisha have planned for us?" I asked Barry.

"I'm not sure. Aisha seems kind of like a blur of activity sometimes. Why do I feel like we're going to be trekking all over the city today?" he asked with good humor.

"Because we most likely will be." I answered him.

Dustin barked out a laugh, "You're probably absolutely right."

The three of us then fell into an easy conversation after that. It wasn't long before the door flew open once more, softer this time, and Robb, Joe and Aisha walked in. Robb and Joe were smiling while Aisha looked like a little kid who had just gotten caught with their hand in a cookie car. I couldn't help but giggle at her expression. She sent me a glare and pouted.

"Well, is everyone ready to go?" Robb asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Let's get going then. It's nearing o'clock and we have a lot of to today, isn't that right Aisha?" Robb asked.

Aisha grinned, losing her pout. "Yes, I have an itinerary and everything!" she exclaimed while holding up a piece of paper as if it was a trophy.

That was one thing that you wouldn't expect about Aisha. Despite the fact that she was very disorganized about pretty much everything else, Aisha was extremely organized with was her ideas and thoughts. She made lists for everything. She had to just to keep track of all the things she needed to do. I think she even had lists for her lists—it was that bad. I knew that when Aisha really got down to business to organize something, then she meant business. She probably had everything planned out for the entire day, leaving no time to squeeze anything else in.

I walked up to her and stole the 'itinerary'. Looking it over, I realized I was completely right. Aisha had organized everything, leaving little free time for us to do whatever we wanted.

"Aish, why did you make this?" I asked. "Why can't we just be free to explore. We don't need to follow an itinerary."

Aisha shook her head, "We don't have to follow it, we're already way behind on schedule anyways—"

"And whose fault it that." I muttered.

She glared at me for the comment and for cutting me off but continued right where I had interrupted, "—the itinerary is purely for reference. It's just an idea. We don't have to follow it."

I looked around the room at the boys who were watching up in amusement and slight confusion. They had no experience with Aisha and her evil lists so they had no idea how pushy she could get. "You guys all heard that right?" I asked. They all looked at me in confusion. "She said that the itinerary is purely for reference and we don't have to follow it."

"Yeah we heard." Robb said with a laugh.

I smiled innocently, "Good, you guys are my witnesses if she starts getting cranky about the list and I confront her about it."

"It shouldn't be that bad, Mercedes." Barry said, coming to her defense.

'Of course he'd defend her. They may or may not be together—but he totally has feelings for her.' I observed with a smirk.

I threw my hands up in the air in defeat, "Whatever you guys say—but don't tell me that I didn't warn you."

Robb rubbed his hands together like an evil genius getting ready to do some sort of experiment, "Let's get rolling then. I trust everyone wore comfortable shoes?" he asked.

Everyone voiced their answers. Luckily we all already had on comfortable shoes because we knew that we'd be walking around all day. There was nothing worse than having to walk around all day in heels and not get a break. I knew that was experience at work.

"Okay, let's get going then."

I slipped on my red framed sunglasses while Dustin put on his customary backwards visor. Aisha pranced out the door first with her evil 'list' in hand. Joe and Barry trailed after her while laughing the entire time. I followed the two of them, slightly worried about the day that was to come from past experience while Dustin and Robb brought up the rear. Robb looked completely optimistic and ready for a day of adventure while Dustin just looked amused by my pouting.

All in all, we were in for a very interesting day.

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**Thoughts? What do you think the GHI's tour of Prague will be like? What do you think Aisha's going to end up doing? Will she keep her promise. Five reviews and you'll find out tomorrow :)**


	23. GOH: Part 5 of 7

**Authors Note:** _Urg, I feel so bad that it's taking me so long to update this story. I've been spending some time rewriting Midnight Tryst because I recently made a list of things I want to end up accomplishing in my lifetime and writing my own book is one of them. Bringing up my grades and spending as much time with Daymen before he graduates in a month and leaves for college are a couple others. So, I've been spending alot of time working on those three things. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!!_

* * *

_Brighter Than Sunshine_

-by-

Aqualung

**and**

_Humoresque _(Ragtime Piano Version)

-by-

Antonín Dvořák

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 5 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

_**- Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

"You weren't kidding," Robb whispered to me from my right side as we were getting ready to leave Lesser Town, which was where we had spent the majority of our time visiting. "Aisha is like a friggin' Nazi of tourist attractions."

Dustin, who was walking on my other side, shook his head. "No, no, no. You've got this all wrong man. She's not a Nazi, Robb." He said. Robb and I looked at him with raised eyebrows. "She's the _Hitler_ of tourist attractions."

The three of us laughed quietly over this little comment.

We had decided to save on gas in the vans and take the busses to get where we needed to go then we could just walk around the city. After leaving the Hilton, we rode a bus over to Lesser Town across the river where we had been for the past three and a half hours. We had gone on the Prague Castle tour as well as a tour of the Church of St. Nicholas. After visiting those places, we went to Lesser Town Square, also known as Malostranske Namesti, where they had all sorts of shops, restaurants and pubs. From there, we trekked over to Petrin Park, where they had the famous Petrin Hill & Observation Tower. Let's just say that the view from the top of the tower was worth the 299 steps we had to climb to get to the top. In just a few hours, we had taken many pictures, experienced many new things and over all were all having a good time—except for one thing.

Aisha, against her promise, was beginning to get a bit snappy when it came to walking around. She had started off okay during the Prague Castle tour, but when we were inside the Church of St. Nicholas I could tell that she had started to get extremely bored. So instead of letting us take our time and look at what we liked, she started telling us to quit dilly dallying and stop slowing the tour down. When getting into the town square, it was the same exact thing. We would be some place five minutes and then we were moving again.

Dustin barely had enough time to purchase a shirt that he wanted. Personally, I thought the shirt was a little ridiculous but he apparently loved it and even wore it over his Providence shirt after buying it. The t-shirt was black with a picture of a cartoon kid sitting on a burger and holding a drink in his hand. The words '_burger boy_' were written in bright red letters across the chest.

When we got to the observation tower in Petrin Gardens, the tower seemed like the only thing Aisha didn't rush us with. But she didn't exactly let us stick around forever to check out the views either. We took a few pictures, stayed for about five or ten more minutes and then left. Everyone, including Barry, seemed shocked by her demanding behavior. When I confronted her about it she just said that if they were going to visit every place there was to visit, then we had to no time to mess around.

"I warned you. But did you all believe me? No!" I whispered back to Dustin and Robb in a mocking voice.

"Well we can definitely believe you now." Robb replied in a somber voice.

Robb, Dustin and I had walked together for the majority of the time. Out of everyone in the entire group minus Aisha who'd known me for years, I was closest to Robb and well Dustin, well, again obviously. The three of us had decided that we needed to do something to slow Aisha down. Joe and Barry had followed Aisha willingly but now they both looked like they were in need of a bit of a rest after climbing nearly 600 steps in the past half hour. Aisha, who seemed to be completely unaffected by the workout she was giving us, was walking ahead of everyone at a fast pace. I knew we needed to stop and rest soon. I practically had to sprint to catch up with her.

"Hey Aish!" I yelled out to her.

Aisha finally stopped and turned around, "Yeah?"

"Do you think we can slow down a little and just chill out at Charles Bridge for a while?" I pleaded. "We're all getting a little tired and since Charles Bridge is next on the to-do-list, I think we can just spend some time there before heading over to Old Town." I suggested.

She looked a little reluctant but after looking behind me to see that the four guys were still struggling to keep up, she agreed. "Fine, we can stay there for about a half hour. But then it'll be nearing five o'clock so we'll need to head over to Old Town and get something to eat. We can stay over there for a few hours before heading back to the Hilton to get ready to go to _Cloud Nine_."

I nodded at her before heading back to the guys to tell them to good news. "Hey, I got the okay for Aish!" I told them excited.

As I had predicted, they were pretty damn elated by the fact that we could just sit down and relax for a while. We decided to cheat and take a tram to Charles Bridge since our feet were beginning to hurt really bad from all the walking we'd been doing—even with our comfortable shoes on. On the tram, it was decided that everyone could go off and do their own thing. We didn't have to stick together or wait around. We decided to meet at 4:45pm to head over to Old Town and since we all had cell phones, we could contact each other if need be.

After exiting the tram, we all made sure that our cell phones were on with full batteries before each of us headed off in different directions. I was completely amazed by the immensity that was Charles Bridge. You see pictures in magazines or on the internet, but until you're really there, you will never even begin to understand how great and monstrous yet beautiful it is.

Charles Bridge was like a constantly flowing sea of humanity. There were people everywhere. It seemed that every time that I turned, I would see another person than before. Each time it was different, the only common thing was that they were a stranger. It was a bit overwhelming. I wasn't a huge fan of crowds and I didn't like that a few rude people would push and squeeze their way along the bridge just because they were eager for the best photo opportunity.

Every time that you turned, you would see something new and exciting. The bridge was decorated on each side by 30 baroque statues, one of which is said to be able to give you good luck. There were people who had marionette puppets and ventriloquist dolls. There were sketch artists who drew the faces of both the young and old who wanted to remember their time on the historic bridge. Occasionally, a young child would often run raucously past with their dripping ice cream cones while their frantic parents chased after them.

As I was walking down the bridge, I spotted a charming old man who was wearing round glasses, a red suit and a straw hat. He was performing on an old organ that had an adorable stuffed monkey sitting on top of it. The melody coming from his filled the air with beautiful music that somehow appropriately fit with the gothic scenery of the medieval castle tops, church spires and baroque timed statues.

"Afternoon." The man greeted me kindly in a rough American accent when he noticed me stop. English obviously wasn't his native tongue but I was happy that he was speaking it for me. I guess it was pretty obvious that I was American and not Czech.

I smiled, "Good afternoon. You're music is beautiful."

The old man blushed at my compliment, "Thank ya', Miss. It humble hobby of mine—been playing 'fer years."

I was just about to respond when I heard someone call my name, "Mercedes!"

Quickly turning around in the direction that I had heard it, I saw Dustin walking towards me looking slightly worried but yet relieved at the same time when I noticed him. He jogged up to me and stopped just feet in front of me. I raised my eyebrow in question.

"Jeez Mercedes, listen much? I've been chasing after you, trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes." He panted.

I frowned, "I'm sorry I was talking with…" I trailed off, not knowing the older man's name.

"Jaromil." The old man provided.

"…Jaromil." I finished.

Dustin smiled at the elderly man, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said politely. I looked at Dustin in awe. Despite the fact he said slang phrases, he sure had an advanced vocabulary. Not too many people I know would say '_Pleasure to make your acquaintance_.' Then again, Dustin was a true gentleman through and through.

"Wow, I haven't seen an organ like that in quite a while." Dustin said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Organ original, one of kind." Jaromil answered in his broken English.

"One of a kind you say, well I can certainly say I've never seen something quite like this before." Dustin said as he took a closer look at the musical instrument.

Jaromil grinned, "Request?"

Dustin and I turned to look at each other at the same exact time. I was pretty sure that neither of us knew any kind of song to request. Jaromil seemed to realize our predicament because he then waved off his question and began playing something that he was apparently dedicating to his two new American friends. Dustin and I listened, completely entranced, as the man began to play an upbeat song. It had a classic jazz sound, like it was straight out of a twenties movie.

"Song called, _Humoresque_. Very popular. I play ragtime version of original." Jaromil told us while continuing to play. "What bring you to Prague?"

"We are part of a group that does paranormal investigations in overseas places. We we're out at Castle Houska last night investigating."

Jaromil stopped playing suddenly and looked at me in surprise, "You go in Castle Houska?"

I nodded, "Yes."

Jaromil shivered, "Scary place. I want to never go."

Dustin laughed, "It was a pretty scary place."

I agreed with him one hundred and twenty percent. Castle Houska was without a doubt the scariest place I had ever been in my entire life.

Dustin and I stayed ended up staying to chat with Jaromil for a while longer before he told us to head on to see what else we could find on the bridge. Jaromil bed us goodbye, stating to come back in the future. Dustin told him that we definitely would try our best to. Jaromil was such a sweet soul. It's just too bad that there aren't too many people like him left in this world.

As Dustin and I walked further down the bridge, I watched couples walk by that were completely and totally in love with each other. They were holding hands, laughing, kissing freely and not really giving a care in the world to anyone other than themselves. I envied how they could be like that in public. I really wanted to hold Dustin's hand, but I knew there were too many risks of people seeing us. The Ghost Hunters and GHI teams didn't have as much problems with paparazzi as most celebrities did, but that didn't mean that someone else from the team would see us and that could cause problems. So, we settled for walking side by side, the junior high way. You know, when you're young and you and you're boyfriend just started dating and you really want to hold his hand so you stick your hands down at your side so that they'll brush up against your boyfriend's every once in a while in hopes he'll get the point and hold it. As if he noticed what I was doing, every time our hands would brush, Dustin would look down at me and smirk.

"Are you trying to hold my hand?" he teased me after the third time we'd bumped hands.

I giggled, "Maybe."

"Well is that so?"

Dustin stopped me in the middle of the crowded bridge and looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear before grabbing my tiny hand in both of his. He stared down at me with his beautiful emerald colored eyes before bringing my hand to his lips. He smirked as my heart stuttered in my chest at the contact.

Suddenly, I remembered where we were and I slowly took my hand from his grasp. "We can't do this here." I said sadly.

His eyes were cheerless as he nodded, "I know, I'm sorry."

We kept walking, trying to ignore the sudden weirdness that had fallen between us. It was harder than you can imagine, being with someone yet not being allowed to touch them . Well, it wasn't that we weren't allowed, it was more like we just couldn't because someone could see.

Luckily, the oddness was broken when we stumbled upon a little band. I didn't notice them at first and was about to walk by but Dustin stopped and was grinning madly as he watched on like a kid in a candy store. I giggled and backtracked so I was standing beside him. The band played jazz music sort of like what Jaromil was playing only—well different because it wasn't played on a piano.

"Do you like the music?" I asked Dustin.

He nodded, completely entranced. "Hell yeah—this is like the type of jazz that they play in those old _Merrie Melodies_ cartoons. They're my favorite."

I was completely confused and feeling a little stupid because I had no idea what '_Merrie Melodies_ cartoons' were. "Uh, sure…" I murmured.

Dustin turned, finally paying attention to me, and gasped. "Don't tell me that you don't know what _Merrie Melodies_ are!" he exclaimed.

I shrugged, "Guilty."

"_Merrie Melodies_ is those old cartoons with Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and all them in there! It's basically like _Looney Toons_."

I rolled my eyes, "Why didn't you just say that. I know what _that_ is."

"Good, for a minute there. I was getting worried." He joked.

"You really like those cartoons, don't you?" I asked.

Dustin nodded, "_Merrie Melodies_ was my favorite cartoons as a kid. The music they're playing, it brings back memories. That's why I stopped. I can see myself back as a seven year old kid. Just a little boy peering up at the lightly lit TV screen from under my over-grown bowl cut while eating cereal in my underwear."

I couldn't help it, I busted out laughing. "There are two things wrong with that statement. The first is that I cannot picture you with an overgrown bowl cut." I exclaimed.

"Believe it or not, I didn't have great hair as a child like I do now."

I smiled, "Maybe that's why you're so obsessed with it now."

"I'm not obsessed!"

"Dustin, you have more hair gel than Aisha and I do combined." I said seriously. "The second thing wrong with your previous statement was that the last part was an over share."

"Ah, an over share?" Dustin teased me. "The underwear thing?"

I blushed and nodded, "Just a little."

"Well, that was way back in the good old days, when I was little and the world was huge." He said.

I smirked, "You may not be so little anymore," I poked his chest, "But the world still seems pretty darn big to me. I seem to be finding out a lot about you today Burger Boy." I commented while making a jab at his shirt.

"That you are and don't mock the shirt. It's pure genius." He sounded appalled that I would offend it.

I shook my head, "Dustin how does the words 'burger boy' make the shirt pure genius."

"It just does, but hey do you mind if we stay here for a little while and just enjoy the music?" he asked me, changing the subject.

"Sure, let's sit down here on the edge of the bridge."

He took my hand lightly in his and led me away from the crowd to a slightly less dense spot where we could just sit. It was there that Dustin and I sat side by side on the wall behind the little band, just to listen in on the music for a little while. It was almost impossible not to close my eyes to let the music wash over me that the seven men who stood just a few feet down from us were playing on clarinets, saxophones, an upright bass, an acoustic guitar and a banjo. When I finally opened my eyes again, I saw that Dustin was staring up at the pitch forked peaks of the surrounding buildings, the church steeples and the passerby's while swaying back and forth in time with the music.

When one of the old men started passing a hat around to collect donations, Dustin announced that he wanted their CD. While staying on my perch on the side of the bridge, I watched as he walked up to the elder man and pulled out his wallet. When he came back to me five minutes later, he was smiling like crazy and holding a CD case in his hand.

He jumped up on the wall next to me and excitedly showed me his CD, while talking a mile a minute about what the elder man had told him. They played all day and sometimes having night shows taking breaks every half hour. He had also apparently suggested that Dustin come back at night so he could listen to a violin player who was apparently really good. Dustin had agreed and came back to ask if I wanted to go too. I had no objections to spending more time alone with Dustin so I said yes.

Dustin and I were still talking about the CD when someone interrupted us. "AH! Oh my god, that's like, _Dustin_ _Pari_!" a girl yelled out completely unexpectedly.

Dustin's head snapped up at the sound of his name being called and looked completely confused and slightly shocked. I was as well. In the entire time we had been traveling, not once had this happened. Our eyes zeroed in on an American teenage girl with blonde hair and silver colored eyes. She was dressed in a tiny tank top and shorts and was staring at Dustin like she had found a prize.

"Do you think she'll come over here?" I murmured.

Dustin sighed, "Probably. This rarely happens but when it does people are usually really nice but…"

"I have a bad feeling about this one. She's staring you down like you're a piece of meat." I growled, cutting him off while glaring at the girl.

"Are you jealous of a teenager?" Dustin laughed heartily.

I grumbled out an unintelligent reply as the girl started walking over towards us with another girl in tow who looked completely starstuck at the sight of Dustin. They stopped about four feet in front of where we were sitting and just stared for a minute. When the girl spoke, it made both of us jump because she was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Oh my god, are you Dustin Pari from _Ghost Hunters International_?" she squealed in a high pitched voice.

Dustin nodded but looked slightly afraid of her exuberance, "That'd be me."

"Oh my god! Your hair and backwards visor gave it away." she squealed while clapping her hands. Dustin brought his hand up to his hat and took it off looking at it like it was some sort of evil weapon. The girl didn't notice though, she kept on talking. "This is so cool to actually meet you in person. I love GHI and I think you're the best investigator on the show!"

"Uh thanks…uh…"

"Mollie Whitehead and this is my best friends Annie Evans." Mollie said, introducing herself and her starstuck brunette best friend.

"Well it's nice to meet you girls." Dustin said politely. "How are you enjoying Prague? Judging by your accents I wouldn't assume your Czech."

"Oh no, we're so not Czechs." Mollie giggled. "We're from Cali. My Dad had a business trip here in Prague and so my family came and I brought Annie. But Prague's really sweet. The tours of all the cathedrals and museums are a really boring but the shopping's alright so it's all good." She prattled on. "But what are you doing in Prague?"

"We're here filming for the second season of GHI." Dustin replied.

Annie brightened up and spoke for the first time. "Oh my gosh does that mean Barry is here too?" she blushed as soon as she asked, obviously not meaning to ask.

Dustin smirked, "Yeah, the whole crew is here."

Mollie looked at me pointedly and winkled her nose and the fact that I was sitting next to Dustin. "Who are you?" she asked.

"This is Mercedes Culvert one of our new investigators." Dustin smiled down at me while introducing me.

Mollie scrunched up her nose again, "Oh…that's nice." She said, obviously not really meaning it. She dismissed me shortly after. "So, can I get a picture with you Dustin?" Mollie started to flutter her eyelashes as if that would make him say 'yes'.

Dustin shrugged, "Well, uh…I don't see why not." He was struggling to still be polite.

Mollie ran up to Dustin and threw her arms around him, almost making him loose his balance on the bridge. I put my hand out to held steady him while glaring at the teenager. I didn't need some girl pushing my boyfriend into the Vltava River. She apologized profusely and Dustin waved it off, but I could tell he was a little annoyed. Mollie took three pictures with him, saying she didn't look good in the first two before she and Annie finally left when an older woman in a business suit called out to them.

After they left, Dustin sighed in relief. "I love my fans, it's awesome meeting them but it's the over enthusiastic ones like that that bug me. I'm just a regular guy. I don't see why I'm such a big deal. People shouldn't freak out over talking to me, just have a regular conversation with me." He grunted. "I have to say that that was a first though. Never have I been practically pushed off a bridge because someone was so excited to take some pictures with me."

I placed my hand on his bicep and squeezed while laughing. "I was worried for a minute when she jumped you. I thought you were going to fall."

"Me and you both." He looked down at his visor which was now sitting on his lap. "I knew this damn thing would get me in trouble one day."

I giggled, "Everyone knows that Dustin Pari's signature look is his spiky hair and backwards visor."

We were still sitting on the wall when Barry found us about fifteen minutes later. He was now sporting a baseball hat and sunglasses so I almost didn't recognize him at first glance when he said our names. Dustin jumped off the wall before turning to help me down. I thanked him politely before we walked over to see what Barry wanted.

"What's with the disguise?" I asked curiously, pointing towards the way he had the bill of his hat hiding his face and his dark sunglasses that were completely covering his eyes.

Barry frowned, "It's not a disguise. I just didn't realize that I stick out. Earlier, I was walking around looking at the statues, minding my own business when two young gals ran up to me. I got _attacked_ all because one of the young gals wanted to take a photograph with me."

Dustin and I looked at each other before we started laughing. Poor Barry looked extremely confused but it was just too funny. I had a feeling I knew who the two girls were.

"Did their names happen to be Mollie and Annie?" Dustin asked.

Barry raised an eyebrow at the question, "Well I think so from what I caught. They were talking a little fast. But how did you know?"

"They ran into us as well." I said. "Mollie spotted Dustin's visor and ran up to us. She almost pushed him off the bridge while taking a picture with him."

Shaking his head, Barry stifled a chuckle. "Well, I didn't get almost get pushed off a bridge but the one lass knocked the air out of me when she ran into me."

"Are you alright?" I asked, slightly concerned.

Barry nodded. "I'm quite alright, Mercedes." He smiled. "Well, do you's think that it's about time to be meeting up with the others and heading to dinner. I don't know about you's but I'm famished."

My stomach took that opportunity to growl. I looked down at it before looking back at Dustin and Barry who were snickering at the sound. "Uhm, I think my stomach says it's time to eat." I laughed.

I called Aisha after that and she told me that she had already found Robb and Joe wandering around and that the three of them would meet us at the end of Charles Bridge that was closest to Old Town. After much debating, we decided to eat at _La Casa Argentina Restaurant_. The restaurant, as you could probably guess, was Argentinean. We were all pretty amazed when we walked inside the restaurant and were seated. The restaurant had several rooms and like the hostess explained to us, each of those rooms represents a different aspect of Argentina. There was a marine tavern with lanterns and swinging chairs and a Buenos Aires piano bar. The one we were seated in was a room that represented the Parana River at the Iguazu Falls. Inside the room was a pond and small waterfall. There were trees growing in the center, they were obviously fake yet at the same time they looked so real. There was also a parrot, an iguana and tropical fish that lived inside the small pond. We were placed at a table for six. Robb, Joe and Dustin sat on one side while Aisha, Barry and I sat on the other.

"Wow, they really go all out, don't they?" Robb commented as he looked at the parrot which was sitting on a branch about ten feet from our table. The bird stared at Robb with its beady eyes. "Okay, I'm already not a fan of the parrot. It's looking at me weird."

"Robb, it's a parrot. It's not going to hurt you." Aisha insisted.

Joe deepened his voice to sound like something you would hear in a horror movie, "Birds can be very vicious Aisha. You should never trust them. You never know when they can turn on you."

"Wait, I thought that was dogs." Dustin threw in.

Aisha ignored Dustin's comment. "Sure, some birds can be vicious but this is a parrot. As far as I know, they aren't '_vicious'_ as you say. But they have to have it trained or something so it doesn't go peck people while they're eating." She argued.

"True…" Robb said, rubbing his goatee in thought. "I still don't like it though."

"And it doesn't like you too much either." Dustin said. I looked over to the parrot and laughed. If parrots could glare, I'm sure this one would be glaring at Robb right now. "Robb, I think you insulted it. Maybe it understands English."

"Wait, isn't that a violation against health codes to have loose animals in a restaurant?" Barry asked curiously.

We never really got the chance to properly answer his question because a waitress came up to take our orders so conversations of the parrot were forgotten, although Robb did make comments every once and a while through dinner. The restaurant had all sorts of different foods so we decided to do what we usually did when we went out to eat and each ordered a couple different things so we could pick and choose from whatever we wanted. The waitress looked at us a little funny when we ordered but wrote it down nonetheless.

The food was excellent and we were in the middle of eating when a plump man with an apron and a chef's hat walked over to our table. He introduced himself as Vinck and told us that he was the head chef of the restaurant and wanted to come out and see who had ordered such a large smorgasbord of food. He was also presently surprised to recognize us, at least four out of six in the group. Vinck was apparently a fan of GHI and watched it occasionally because his wife, who was American, loved the show. Unlike the two teenage girls, he was respectful to us. He also didn't ask for autographs or pictures. He just had a regular conversation with us. Before he headed back to the kitchen, he told us that we were welcomed back anytime to the restaurant and that we were very good costumers.

"Mi casa, su casa." He had said before he disappeared.

We stayed there in that restaurant for over two hours. After we were finished eating and chatting with Vinck, it was going on 8pm. The sun set around 9pm so we decided to visit the Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock before heading back to the Hilton. The Astronomical Clock, which is located on the side of the Old Town Hall Tower, dates back to around the 15th century. Despite this, it's still in terrific condition for its age. As we made our way towards the tower, I noticed that a crowd was standing looking up at the tower. Confused, I asked Barry who was walking beside me, why everyone was gathered before the clock tower.

"They're most likely waiting to watch the disciple procession." Barry explained. Upon seeing my still confused expression, he continued. "Every hour, on the hour, a trap door opens on the clock and Christ marches out ahead of his disciples, while the skeleton of death tolls the bell to a defiant statue of a Turk."

When I noticed that Barry had a watch on his wrist, I grabbed his arm and stopped him so I could see what the time was. According to his Nikon, it was 7:57pm. "We're just in time." I said as I pointed out the time.

"That we are." Barry smiled.

Sure enough, three minutes later a two trap doors above the clock face opened up and a Jesus Christ figurine appeared in the first window. It slowly began to move by and the other apostles followed after it. It was actually kind of amazing to watch considering that the clock was so old. The six of us stood silent in the middle of the busy square while watching the little figurines pass by the windows. After the last disciple passed and the last chime of the bell went off, the trap doors closed again, not to open for another hour.

"That was kind of cool." I breathed out.

Aisha sighed, "Sort of…I guess."

I laughed, "You're just too ADD to sit around long enough to appreciate the beauty."

Giggling in return, Aisha nodded. "I think you're absolutely right."

"Do you guys want to climb to the top of the clock tower before it gets dark?" Robb asked.

Nobody had any verbal objections so we made our way into the town hall and paid the small fee to climb up the clock tower. Once reaching the top, Barry, Aisha and I pulled out our cameras and started snapping pictures of the views. I was thankful that Aisha wasn't being so bossy about this site at least. I think it was because she found a good photographic opportunity. This was all in good reason because the view from the clock tower was amazing. All you could see for miles was a sea of red, which is because apparently red tin is a very popular roofing in Prague and the Czech Republic in general.

We stayed up in the clock tower for about fifteen minutes before we made our decent down the tower and back into the square. Once in the square, we got onto metro to get back to the hotel. We decided against walking like we had originally planned since it was starting to get dark and we weren't familiar with the area.

Getting onto the metro was certainly an experience. The last metro I had been on was when I was seven years old and in Washington DC. Francesca absolutely _hated _metros so we never rode on them. The one time I had gone on a metro it was just me, Ayden and my father. So when Robb announced that we were riding the metro, I was a little freaked out.

"Come on Mercedes, it's just an underground train." Robb told me, trying to talk me out of being scared. It wasn't working though. I was still pretty terrified.

I bit my lip and nodded, "Yeah I know what a metro is but the last time I rode on one when I was seven."

Aisha nodded, "When we went to New York for vacation once, she refused to ride the subway. We had to take a taxi everywhere."

"Well I promise nothing bad will happen to you. People ride the metro all the time. It's completely safe." Robb coaxed.

"Urg, fine." I said, throwing my hands up in defeat.


	24. GOH: Part 6 of 7

**Authors Note:** Alright, you guys know the drill by now. Please read and review :-) We're only ONE review away from 100 and I'm super excited about that. We have one more chapter left of this segment then the third segment will be complete. I've started on the fourth segment but haven't really got very far. I've sort of hit a writing road block lately but I think that's because I've been using so much of my creative-ness for school that I'm running out of steam for other projects. Still, I have a week and a half left of school and then I'm DONE! But enough about me, I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave me a little somehthing after you've read it!

- RIP

* * *

**PLAYLIST**_**:**_

_Ready And Waiting To Fall_

-by-

Mae

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 6 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

_**- Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

Robb, Barry, Aisha and Joe already had their tickets so I told them to go ahead while I waited on Dustin who was still getting his ticket. I think that the lady was purposely taking her own sweet time getting him his ticket because she kept eyeing him up and down. '_What is it with girls constantly flirting with him_?' I thought angrily. I knew I had no reason to be jealous, and I wasn't really jealous of the lady who was checking out Dustin but that didn't mean I liked it either.

"It'll be okay." Dustin said, breaking me from my jealous thoughts.

"If I get murdered like on _Midnight Meat Train_, there is going to be hell to pay." I muttered while crossing my arms across my chest.

Dustin heard my comment and laughed as the saleslady finally handed Dustin his metro ticket. "Is that why you're afraid to ride the train? Because of a _SyFy_ horror movie?"

"No!" I retorted. "I haven't even seen the movie, too gruesome for my taste. I was just saying."

He looked around quickly before turning back to me and wrapping his muscular arm around my waist and placed a kiss on the top of my head, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you Mercedes—ever."

And then his arm was gone and he was walking off towards the metro.

'_Wow_.' Was all I could think.

Unfortunately, upon boarding the train we realized that it was absolutely packed and there were no seats available. For a while, we had to stand and hold on to the poles in the middle of the train. This made the movement of the train worse but everyone did a fantastic job at distracting me. They all could tell that even though I was on the train, I was still extremely uneasy. And it had nothing to do with _Midnight Meat Train_.

The six of us had scrunched up together in the narrow aisle in between two seating sections using two poles. Joe and Aisha stood on either side of the first one, holding on while Robb leaned against the side of the train and used his hand to balance himself. I was sharing my pole with Barry. He was slouched against the side of the train with one hand on the railing and the other holding his sunglasses and hat. Dustin stood directly behind me, with his hand out balancing himself against the wall but close enough to grab on to the pole if need be.

I closed my eyes and held on to the pole tightly while letting the voices of the others wash over my and calm me down. Aisha was telling them all about _Cloud Nine_, which was the club that we were going to tonight. The club was located on the top floor of the Hilton and it had an amazing view of the Prague skyline. There was an outdoor veranda, an indoor bar and lounge as well as a dance floor with a live DJ that specialized in house music. Apparently when Aisha had disappeared earlier on in the morning, she was talking with the manager about _Cloud Nine_ to get more information about it.

"Hey Mercy, open your eyes." Aisha's voice cut through my inner thoughts.

When I opened my eyes I saw that Robb had a camera in his hand and was pointing it at Barry, Dustin and myself. "This will be entitled, Mercedes's first metro ride. Smile!" he said as he snapped the photograph.

"You better let me see that and approve it before you post it on MySpace or anything." I said.

Robb turned the camera around and handed it to me so that I could the picture through the small screen. In the picture, I was griping the pole but was smiling softly, Barry was also holding on the pole while slouching against the wall opposite from me with his sunglasses held in between his teeth, smirking at the camera while Dustin had his arm out, holding himself up while grinning lazily at the camera. It was a really good picture for it being spur of the moment.

"I approve." I said with a firm nod as I handed him his camera back.

Suddenly, the metro jolted as we made a turn and I let out a loud screech as I lost my balance and started to fall backwards. Although both Dustin and Barry tried to catch me, they weren't quick enough and I landed flat on my ass on the floor. At first, it was completely silent both behind me in the seating sections and in front of me where everyone from my group was standing. And then seconds later, the silence was broken as the first giggle escaped from someone—I'm not sure who. Then everyone started laughing. My face turned bright red. I was completely humiliated and even worse, my backside was starting to feel very painful as well. I felt angry tears begin to well up in my eyes and my cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment. I let my hair fall in front of my face to hide myself. There was nothing more I wanted to do than crawl into a hole and die.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my face and looked up to see Dustin staring down at me. His face was completely serious and he wasn't laughing like the others in the slightest. "Mercedes! Are you alright?" he whispered in a concerned tone as he knelt before me.

I nodded, unable to speak.

"_Oh my god! Are you alright_?" I heard Aisha ask me.

Barry's voice also made it into my head, "_Mercedes, I'm sorry I should have caught you_."

"_Are you hurt_?" Joe and Robb both asked worriedly.

But at the moment, all I saw was Dustin who carefully brushed some hair from my face and continued talking in a hushed tone. "Don't be embarrassed, Baby. They shouldn't be laughing at you because it could happen to anyone. Are you sure you're alright?"

I nodded again. Dustin's hand then left my face and instead placed his hands under my arms to help me up. It was slightly painful, but nothing too bad. Once I was standing, I gripped the pole in front of me and stared down at my feet. My pride was pretty wounded at the moment and I really didn't want to look at any one.

I felt another hand on my shoulder and turned to see a boy about sixteen years old, American, with short blond hair and smoky colored eyes. He looked sad and slightly worried. "Are you alright there?" he asked me softly, sounding really shy.

I nodded, "Yeah, I fine. It happens." I said, trying to shove it off.

The teenager shook his head in disgust, "Yes, it does happen but it doesn't mean that people should laugh at you for it. I'm really sorry." He said.

"It's not your fault." I mumbled.

He shrugged, "Uh, well I saw that you looked kind of uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure that that fall didn't exactly feel good so I was wondering if you wanted my seat."

"I—uhm—I can't take your seat…uh!" I exclaimed but then paused when I realized I didn't know the kid's name.

"My name is Kevin Jameson and yes you may take my seat. I promise you, it's alright with me. Besides, isn't it gentlemanly to have the women have the seats while the men stand?" he asked with a smirk.

"Listen to the kid Mercedes, you probably _should_ sit." Robb said, voicing his opinion. I honestly didn't even know he or the others were listening.

I frowned, "Guys I'm fine. I can barely feel the pain now."

It was actually true. I could only feel a slight bit of soreness now.

Kevin looked reluctant but I held my ground and finally he returned to his seat. The others didn't understand why I turned to seat offer down but I didn't think it would be fair to them, plus we were going to be getting off the metro soon. Sure enough, a few moments later, the metro slowed and passengers began to head out of the train.

I guess in the end, the metro ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be—well minus the fall. But I still didn't want to ride on one every day either. Once we exited the metro and made our way back above ground to our hotel we split up. The guys each went to their separate rooms after being instructed by Aisha to dress nicely while Aisha and I made our way to her room. Apparently I was borrowing one of her dresses tonight so I wouldn't need to return to my room until after we got done at the club. We weren't going to stay for a very long time, nor we're we going to drink too much considering we had evidence review in the morning but it was a nice way to unwind a bit before having to be cooped in a room for almost ten hours or more. Once we were ready, we would just head up to _Cloud Nine_ to meet.

After going through a few choices in clothing, we finally decided on a white and pink _Lipsy_ dress with a silver jeweled waist for myself and a black tube dress for Aisha. With my dress, I wore a pair of magenta colored _Jimmy Choo_'s, silver and pink bangles and a pair of _Kavita_ earrings with dangly pink colored stones in them. I took my hair from its ponytail and left it wavy before fixing my make up very lightly. Aisha on the other hand, went dark, so to speak. She wore a pair of black _Christian Louboutin_ High Satin Peep Toed heels and a _Pamela Love X WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE_ bracelet which looks like a large spiraled claw attached to her wrist. She made her hair pin straight before using dark makeup to give her a smoky eye and lastly applied some red lip stick.

"Hey Aish, I have a question." I said as we were getting ready.

At that point, Aisha was working on her makeup. "Shoot."

I really wanted to ask Aisha about Barry. I had been thinking about the conversation I had overheard at Wicklow's Gaol and also the conversation that I had had with Dustin about it that morning. I wanted some answers but I wasn't sure if Aish was going to come clean or not about it.

"Did anything ever happen with you and Barry?" I blurted out.

I studied my best friend's face but unfortunately she kept a poker face expression. "No, why do you ask?" she said coolly.

"Just curious," I said with a shrug. "You just hadn't mentioned anything about it since our first investigation in Ireland and I was just kind of wondering about it."

Aisha nodded but didn't say anything back. I let the conversation drop but wasn't totally satisfied. I still felt like she was keeping something from me. Her poker face was really good though. Whatever it was that she was hiding, I didn't know.

Once we were ready to go, we made our way up to Cloud Nine, getting looks left and right as we went. At first I was worried that we were way over dressed but Aisha assured me that we weren't and if we were, it didn't really matter because we could play it off. Fortunately, we were dressed just right because once we made it up to the roof top bar, we decided that we had made the right choice by dressing up because everyone else was as dressed up as us, if not more.

There was a large muscled man with curly black hair, tan skin and brown eyes was standing at the door. He was obviously security. He took his job seriously too. Not only did we have to show him our room key to prove that we were guests of the hotel but we also had to flash our IDs. After he checked both, he opened the door and smiled down at us with a goofy grin and told us to have a good night.

Upon entering the club, we were hit with the smell of alcohol and sweat. The lights were low but strobe lights were bouncing about the room from their location by the DJs table to give a little bit more light. The room seemed to be pulsing with energy, most of it was probably from the loud music was playing from speakers that were mounted against the wall. There was a bar area, lounge area as well as a dance flood. After standing near the entrance, looking for the guys, we finally spotted them sitting in down at the bar with drinks already sitting before them. They were all dressed nicely. Sitting closest to me was Robb. He had on a checkered button up shirt, dark washed jeans and pain black sneakers. Barry was next to him wearing khakis, a dark colored button down striped shirt, and his signature cap. Next was Joe, who was also wearing khakis and a blue button down. Dustin sat on the end, drinking his beer with his hair spiked as always, a long sleeved black button down, fitted jeans and sneakers. Each of them had a mug with goldish brown colored liquid in it with white foam on top.

'_Aisha takes them clubbing and they stick to their precious beer_.' I thought.

The bartender came up and asked Aisha and I for our drink orders as we sat down next to Robb on the bar. I ended up ordering _Passion_ which was made up of flavored Vodka, Tropical Fruit Juice, Grenadine, Lime Juice, and Sugar Syrup. Aisha ordered a _Mexican Standoff_ which was made of Tequila Gold and Silver, Mezcal, Lime Juice, Triple sec, Grapefruit and Orange Juice, Grenadine. It apparently was an original Mexican drink that was supposed to give you strength.

"I don't know about it giving you strength, but it sure as hell is good." Aisha laughed as she told the bartender her order.

The bartender laughed at her but got straight to work on getting our drinks. For the first ten minutes we were in the club, the six of us sat at the bar and nursed our alcohol. After those ten minutes were up, Aisha had finished half of her _Mexican Standoff_ and was pulling me away from my drink and on to the dance floor to dance. She led me to the middle of the dance floor and then she started dancing along to the techno beat. To get into the right mood for dancing, I did my usual routine that I did before dancing. I stopped and I shut my eyes before let the music take over all of my senses. After getting a sense of the beat of the music, I slowly started to rock back and forth to the music. Neither Aisha nor I had any fancy dance moves to any of this music because we weren't familiar with it so we settled for the normal sexy club dancing without the grinding and slutty moves. It was sensual, flirting and just plain fun. Both of us were laughing and smiling as we twirled around, threw our hands up in the air and swung our hips—not really caring who was watching.

We danced like that for god knows how long. Whenever we got into dancing, hours would pass and we would never know. But when we finally looked around us, we noticed that several people had stopped dancing and were watching us dance. A couple of guys winked at us but I ignored them, and instead turned my eyes to the bar and found that the four boys had turned in their chairs, keeping an eye on us while chatting and laughing amongst themselves. I knew they weren't as into dancing as Aisha and I were so this was a good way to compromise. Aisha and I had our dance floor and fruity drinks for the boys had their bar.

"I wish the guys would come dance with us." I said wistfully while staring at them. "It was so much fun the last time."

Aisha laughed, "Yeah but do you realize how hard it was to convince them to dance at your birthday party? And that was in private, not in front of a crowd!"

"True." I sighed.

"Besides, it looks like they're having their own fun. They need their male bonding time."

I snorted, "Male bonding time?"

Aisha nodding, looking completely serious, "Yes, it's like when we watch girly movies, paint each other's nails and talk boys. Only they drink beer, eat greasy foods and talk sports or in our boys case, ghosts." I couldn't help but laugh at her crazy logic but in reality, she _was_ probably exactly right in what they were discussing.

Aisha and I resumed dancing after that for a while before we decided to head back over to the bar for some more drinks. I was getting pretty thirsty and I was thankful when Dustin waved me over and handed me a refilled _Passion_. I took a sip out of the drink and sighed before thanking him. I plopped down on the stool next to him and slouched back against the chair.

"Tired?" he asked me.

I shrugged, "A little but I'm still kind of hyped up. Aish and I haven't been club dancing for a while. How long we're we out there?"

"Probably a couples hours, it's going on 11pm now."

"What time are we planning on heading back to our rooms?"

"Robb told us while you two were dancing that we were probably going to head out pretty soon. You, Aisha, Joe and Barry all have to get up early tomorrow, don't forget about that." Dustin teased.

I rolled my eyes, "How could I? Not all of us get the privilege of skipping evidence review."

Dustin laughed, "Yes but I have to go talk to the client."

Robb chose that moment to interrupt our conversation, "Are you guys ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, just let me finish my drink." I told him.

Dustin suddenly grinned as if he got an idea, "That might take a little while since you just got it refilled. You don't want to waste it. Robb, if you guys want to go ahead and go down, I'll wait for Mercedes to finish her drink. Aisha's starting to look a little wobbly over there."

As he said the comment about Aisha, my eyes flew over to her sleepy looking form. She wasn't drunk, but she was buzzed and probably was getting tired. Aisha had a high alcohol tolerance, but for some reason certain drinks tended to make her really slow on her feet. I guess _Mexican Standoff_ was one of those.

"Well, I—" Robb looked unsure but after taking a look at Aisha he agreed. "Actually, I don't see a problem with that. Be good kids and don't get in trouble." He mocked while pointing his finger at us.

The other four left soon after and left Dustin and I at the bar. I brought my drink to my lips and took a large swig of the alcohol, not even wincing as it burnt my throat. I was kind of curious as to why Dustin asked them to go ahead. I soon got my answer because as soon as he knew that they were for sure out of sight, he placed his hand on my knee to get my attention. I dropped my drink down on the table without looking to see to see where it had landed.

Dustin looked down upon me with burning eyes and spoke in a husky voice. "I'm going to kiss you now, alright?"

I grinned and nodded as he tilted his face to mine pressed his lips to mine almost roughly. Our kiss started out frantic. Maybe it was because we had spent the entire day being so close, but not close enough. Now here we were in the middle of a dark, crowded bar with no one paying attention to us and alcohol in our systems. It was probably not the best combination but we didn't really care. We were both breathing heavily, as we nipped and pulled on each other's lips. Dustin took my bottom lip in between his teeth and bit down softly as I moaned into his mouth.

"Ung…" I sighed indistinctly.

Dustin laughed softly before running his hand down the side of my face and pulling back to look at me. "So did you enjoy today?" he asked me.

I nodded, "Yes, very much so. But not as much as I enjoyed that kiss."

"Good." He leaned forward and kissed me once more.

Dustin and I were sitting on separate bar chairs but had them swiveled so they were facing one another. It wasn't close enough. I needed to be closer to him. It seemed like the night before was such a long time ago and the fact that I had barely been able to properly kiss him today was killing me now. I needed this time just to be with him and be absorbed in his presence.

I slowly got up from the bar chair and stood in between his legs as he sat still in the bar chair so that my body molded against his. I brought my arms up his chest before wrapping them around his neck to hold him close to me. Dustin's hands never left my body. They were gripping my waist tightly the entire time. I suddenly felt his tongue at my lips, asking for entrance and I let him have it without a second thought. As I opened my mouth, I got a better taste of both Dustin and the beer he had been drinking. We slowly stopped kissing so roughly and instead began savoring the kisses, drawing them out as Dustin ran his hands up and down my back in a soothing manner.

When we finally pulled apart, our eyes were dazzling with exhilaration and our lips were very noticeably swollen and red. It wouldn't have taken much for anyone who hadn't witnessed the show, to guess what we had been doing. I rested my forehead against Dustin's for a short moment and kissed the end of his nose before pulling back with a sigh.

"Dance with me." I breathed out.

Dustin's eyebrows furrowed and he turned to look at the clock, "Baby, it's 11:15pm and remember, you have to be up early."

"Ten minutes." I pleaded. "And then I promise we'll head straight to bed."

He frowned but relented, "Fine but only because I've been wishing I could dance with you all night. You look so beautiful when you're dancing."

I blushed, "Thanks."

Dustin kissed my cheek before wordlessly grabbing my hand and tugging me out onto the dance floor. The DJ had started playing some different music when we stepped onto the floor. The music was now less electronic and bubbly as it had been when Aisha and I were dancing. It was still house but this style of the house was more sexy than the upbeat, fun music that I had danced to before. The lights were dimmer and with the new music, the room had a completely different feel. When we got to a dark and slightly secluded spot, Dustin turned me around so that my back was flush against his chest. He rested his hands upon my hips and we started moving in sync. I placed my hands over his and began to sway my hips back and worth. I quickly learned that dancing with Dustin was almost as good as kissing him. We rocked back and forth while staying in a pattern with the beat of the music. Every once in a while I felt Dustin leave open mouthed kisses along my neck as I tilted my head back against his chest. We stayed like that for a while before Dustin finally murmured in my ear that it had been more than ten minutes and we really needed to leave.

I sighed, "I guess you're right."

"Thanks for the dance though, sweetheart." Dustin said as he nuzzled my neck and placed another kiss on my collarbone, sucking lightly for a second before pulling away.

Dustin walked me down to my room and gave me a long, sweet goodnight kiss before we parted ways. He walked the few feet to his hotel room and smirked at me as he walked inside and shut the door behind him. Once I was in my own room, I closed the door and leaned against it with my head tilted back as I sighed happily before letting out a squeal and smiling brightly. I felt like a teenage girl being dropped off by her date at the end of the night. The night had been absolutely perfect. I had gotten to dance with Dustin after all, just like I wanted.

Once I had got my excitement out of my system, I went to the bathroom and slid out of my dress before changing into my pajamas and removing my makeup. Once I was ready, I climbed into bed, sent Dustin a goodnight text before setting my alarm for 7:30am and placing it on my nightstand. I reached up and flicked off the light before curling up in a comfortable position. I settled on my side before sighing deeply and closing my eyes. I needed to be fully rested for evidence review in the morning.

* * *

The sound of a door lightly squeaking open woke me from my dreams of the night before the next morning before my alarm went off. I wasn't worried because it wasn't my front door but rather my connecting room door so I assumed it was Dustin. My eyes fluttered open slowly as I saw him walk towards me with a small grin on his face. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a cut off while his hair was in a messy disarray upon his head. I could tell by his sleepy demeanor that he had just woken up as well. He was probably just checking up on me to make sure I was awake for analysis. I checked the clock, it was 7:15am, almost fifteen minutes before I planned on getting up but I didn't mind that Dustin had woken me up a bit earlier than I had planned.

"Good morning," he said softly as he sat on the edge of my bed.

I sat up and didn't bother with trying to tame my hair or worry that I probably looked like crap. I knew Dustin honestly didn't care. "Morning." I sighed. "Come to wake me up?"

He nodded, "Sort of, I wanted to see you before you had to leave."

"You got up early when you didn't have to just because you wanted to see me?" I asked incredulously.

Dustin laughed at my expression, "Don't look so surprised, honey."

"You're too good to me." I mumbled almost silently under my breath as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Actually, I needed to ask you something and forgot to last night. Would you want to go back to Charles Bridge tonight after the analysis? It'll be just the two of us." Dustin asked after we had been silent for a few moments.

I nodded, "Sure, but how're we going to pull that off?"

"Everyone is pretty much going to be doing their own thing tonight or going to bed early, so I don't think it'll be a problem. But, I'll going to let you get ready and I'm going to head back to bed. Call me when you're done with analysis."

He started to get up off the bed to leave when I grabbed his hand to stop him. "I might regret this later because I haven't brushed my teeth yet but aren't you forgetting something?" I asked.

Dustin pretended to smack his forehead, "Oh yes, how could I ever forget?" he asked sarcastically and he bent down to capture my lips in a form good morning kiss. I hummed in appreciation as we pulled apart. He grinned down at me and said, "Have a good day, sweetie." Then, he stood up and went back to his suite.

After Dustin left I took a quick shower before getting dressed. We all dressed a bit more professionally during analysis since we were going to be filmed. I picked out a blue and silver ruffled tank top with a pair of grey skinny jeans and midnight blue flats to match. I put on some mascara and pinned my bangs back before straightening my hair. Once all that was taken care of, I decided to go ahead and head downstairs to _Atrium_ restaurant which was where I was supposed to meet up with the others for breakfast.

Walking into the restaurant, I didn't spot anyone so a sat down at an empty table that would be easy for the others to spot when they walked into the restaurant. Sure enough, about five minutes after I sat down, Barry walked in the room wearing fitted jeans, a grey graphic design shirt with a black vest over it and tennis shoes. He also had his customary flat cap on his head. He smiled when he saw me sitting down at the table and made his way over to sit across from me.

"Good mornin', Mercedes. How was your sleep?"

"Very good," I said. "Yours?"

Barry chuckled, "Let's just say I've never been so happy to see a bed."

We chatted about the day before while waiting for Aisha and Joe to show up. They ended up coming in about ten minutes later. Aisha was wearing a chocolate and gold colored scoop necked halter, beige colored fitted pants and heeled gladiator sandals. Joe was wearing loose jeans, a brown polo and boots.

The four of us ate a quick but good breakfast before heading to the meeting room to begin analysis. We sat down at the long table filled with all the equipment. Barry was taking the full spectrum shots and some mini-DV, Aisha was looking the rest of the DVR cameras, Joe took the thermal, some mini-DVs and some audio and I took care of all the wireless and digi's. I was excited to use my new headphones. After the last investigation in Rathlin, Aisha and I had decided to buy some personal headphones for ourselves. Aisha had picked out a white and purple pair, while I got a red, black and white abstract designed pair. Once we sat down at the table, each of us put on our headphones to begin.

Now came the most boring and yet exciting part of our investigations. Analysis was tedious and boring if you didn't find anything, but something told me that Castle Houska was going to have some very good evidence. Over two hours passed before Joe spoke up and told us that he had found something.

"This is when Mercedes and Dustin were in the attic. You two are talking about something and then you hear—well, I'm not exactly sure what it is. Why don't you give it a listen and see what you make of it?" He told me. Joe moved the mini-DV around so we could see the screen. We all placed our own headphones on and Joe pressed play on the recorder.

It started with an over head shot of myself and Dustin, then you could hear some sort of bang and we both turned in the same direction to look at it.

"That was really clear." Aisha commented.

I nodded, "Actually, I remember hearing that during the investigation. Dustin and I both heard it and then mentioned it. I'm glad that it picked it up."

"There is definitely some sort of reply there." Barry observed. "It's a good one, it'll back up their personal experience."

After that, we got back to work. The one thing that I did enjoy about doing the wireless was listening to some of the random conversations that everyone had. One particular conversation I found amusing was when Robb, Dustin and Barry did the walk through with Bobo. Robb was having a fake conversation with Bobo. He'd ask 'Bobo' a question in his regular voice, then answer back in a _Scooby Doo_ voice. It was hard to keep from laughing at that but I managed to keep a straight face through the entire 'conversation'.

It was Barry who found the next piece of evidence. He apparently had just finished going through the full spectrum shots of when he and Dustin were in the attic and the camera had started to malfunction. He told us that he had found something.

"Did you see something on one of the shots?" Joe asked.

Barry shook his head, "No, not on the shots but I want to you take a listen to something that I found. You'll hear the camera taking its shots but you'll hear something else as well. It'll be pretty self explanatory." He told us.

We each plugged in our headphones to the mini-DV and waited for Barry to play his sound for us. When he pushed play, you could hear the click of the camera about five times before there was a voice and then you could the click of the camera again. I couldn't tell what the voice was saying, but it was undeniably there.

"Oh yeah, it's there." Aisha said.

"I definitely heard that." I added.

Joe grinned, "It's clearly someone speaking."

"There was a lot of activity that seemed to be happening in the attic. The rock being thrown, voices speaking, the birds going mad for no particular reason, shadows darting around the room—it was just a hot spot that night." Barry said.

"That was a good one." Aisha commented.

Barry smirked, "Yes, it certainly is, certainly is." He repeated.

I nodded, "I agree."

"Well, let's push on now and see what else we can find to show to Robb and Dustin."

I placed my headphones back on and got back to work. I had only gotten through about fifteen minutes of wireless when Aisha gasped and called my name, "Mercedes, you're going to love this!" she exclaimed.

I took of my headphones and waited for her to continue.

"It's you and Dustin in the attic." She started. "Dustin throws a rock and you can actually hear it come back. Take a listen." She said excitedly as she handed me her wireless headphones. I nodded when I was ready and she pressed play.

I looked at the screen and watched as Dustin bent down and picked up a rock from the attic floor and tossed it over towards the opposite side of the attic, "_Can you do that_?" he asked.

It was quiet for a while and I waited for the moment that I knew was coming. When I heard a loud crash through the headphones, I grinned because it was exactly what I had heard..

I listened as Dustin's voice stuttered loudly in surprise. "_Y-yo, yo, yo! Did you hear that_? _It sounded as if someone threw something back at us_…"

Aisha stopped the recording and I took my headphones off and nodded quickly, "Oh yes, I don't think I can forget that. I'm pretty glad it picked it up."

Joe and Barry made their comments and we discussed the sound for a few moments before continuing the analysis. The rest of the time, we didn't find anything too exciting. We went through hours and hours worth of more recordings but didn't find much else. We were still very pleased with what we had found though. Barry called Dustin and Robb in to show them the evidence while the rest of us we're aloud to go back to our rooms. I winked at Dustin when I saw him leaving his room to head down to talk to Barry.

"Will you be ready to go when I get back?" Dustin whispered quietly to me as I was about to walk into my suite.

I nodded, "Sure will."

"I'll be back soon." He said and with that we parted ways.


	25. GOH: Part 7 of 7

**Authors Note: **_Okay, I REALLY want to apologize for making you all wait this long for this chapter. Honestly, I thought I had already posted it, completing the third segment. Imagine my surprise when I found out I hadn't posted it yet and you all have been waiting patiently ALL summer for me to post this. I feel horrible! Which makes it even harder to announce that I probably will not be writing for a while in the future. An explanation is on my profile if you care to read. But as the final piece I will probably be posting for a while, I just want to thank all the people who have taken the leap of faith to read Its The Fear blindly, not having a clue what GHI was about and I want to thank all those avid GH and GHI fans who stuck together and told others about my story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that everyone seemed to enjoy the story and feel like they were right there during the investigations. That was my goal and I'm glad to say I've accomplished that goal. I just want to thank you all again because without you, this story would NOT be there it is today. It would have ended with the first segment and I have to say I'm very proud of how this story has grown. It's my baby and pride and joy. I will miss it but I honestly don't want to write if my heart isn't in it anymore for the time being. So thanks again and for those who have taken the time to read over my long, boring authors notes, I thank you. Hopefully we will be seeing each other again in the future even if it's a year or so down the road. :)_

_Sincerely,_

_-RIP._

* * *

**PLAYLIST:**

_La Cienega Just Smiled_

- by -

Ryan Adams

* * *

**It's The Fear**

**Gates of Hell: Part 7 of 7**

**Mercedes POV**

_**- Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

While Dustin was with Barry and Robb, I decided to get started on the next case. I knew I needed to find a good one after the 'Gates of Hell'. I checked the reference list of offers and after going through all the available cases, I was conflicted on which to choose. It wasn't until I noticed the two cases of Moosham Castle in Unternberg, Austria and the Schloss Porcia in Spittal an der Drau, Austria that I finally made a decision.

After Googling Moosham Castle, I got really excited about it. The castle's proper name was Schloss Moosham. It was built during the 14th century castle built by the prince-bishops of Salzburg, Austria. The case file said that there were claims of full bodied apparitions, sounds that ranged from voices to scratches on walls, shadow people and even people being touched. Schloss Porcia, also known as Porcia Castle was of the most significant Renaissance buildings in Austria. I quickly learned that Porcia Castle was notorious of being haunted by the White Lady Katharina of Salamanca, who was said to be accountable of remorselessness towards her subjects and because of this, is cursed to haunt the rooms of the castle now that she has passed. All in all, both these castles sounded awesome and I figured that we could get a little ahead of the game if we had two cases set up instead of just one.

I was just about to begin researching the area when there was a knock on my connecting room door. Knowing it was Dustin, I called for him to come in without looking up from my computer. "Whatcha doing?" he asked curiously when he saw me sitting at the suite's desk typing away on my snow white colored _Sony_ laptop.

"Researching for the next case." I said.

Dustin walked up behind me and tried to get a peak at the screen. I slammed the laptop lid down before we could get a good look though. "No peaking!" I said.

Holding his hands up in surrender, Dustin began to laugh. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

I lifted my nose up. "Yes I can."

Dustin continued to laugh as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, "Are you ready to get going?"

"Sure am. Are we taking the metro again?"

"Nope, we're taking a bus because I know you hate the metro." He answered me.

I smiled. "Good."

We left my room shortly after that and made our way out of the hotel and to the bus station that was located near the Hilton. We walked to the bus stop, holding hands and just talking about whatever came to our minds. I asked him how he liked the evidence Barry showed him and Dustin told me that he was very excited to show Ty what we had found the next day. Once we reached the bus stop, we found that a bus had just stopped. Dustin paid for our tickets and we boarded the bus and sat side by side in one of the seats.

We rode the bus until we got to the Charles Bridge bus stop. Once we stepped off the bus, we were once again met with the side of the large, majestic bridge. It was after 9pm at this point and it was dark except for the stars and the full moon that was shining down upon us. At night, when the bridge is lying beneath a starry sky, it has a completely different feel to it. There were far less people on the bridge than during the day and instead of a light jazz band playing, the sound of a lone violinist filled the night air instead. I entwined my fingers with Dustin's and leaned into his side as we began to walk down the bridge towards the sound of the music. We were both drawn to it, like a bug to a light in the dark.

We stopped once we reached a tiny old man with large round glasses, scruffy grey hair and watery blue eyes that were magnified by his oversized bifocals. He was wearing a mismatched colored tweed coat that looked two sizes too big and high-water jeans with a pair of old ragged boots. Compared to the colossal mass of architecture that was Charles Bridge, the little old man resembled a mouse. But tucked under his chin was a beautiful instrument that was the source of the music we were drawn to—a dark wooden violin.

Dustin pulled me over to the edge of the bridge and leaned against it before pulling me back against his chest and resting his chin on my shoulder. We stood there for a very long amount of time in silence watching people as they walked by. Some were older couples holding hands. Others were young lovers who were completely wrapped up in one another and noticed nothing else but each other. Groups of friends dressed up for a night on the town walked by and a few loners passed with their hands in their pockets and their eyes trained to the ground. There was one thing that all these people had in common though. They all stared at the older gentlemen in amazement and smiled as they heard the music. Some of them even left spare change or full out tips in the man's black violin case.

"He plays very well." I said, my voice just barely a whisper. A peaceful calm was spread out over the bridge and it seemed wrong to be loud at the moment.

Dustin nodded against my shoulder, "That he does."

We fell silent against and enjoyed the music once more. Every once in a while Dustin began to hum along to the music when he picked up on something that sounded slightly familiar. His smooth hum in my ear sent shivers down my spine—in a good way of course. Yet I knew that in his mind, he was far away. He was deep in thought about something that I had no idea about.

All I could think about was how peaceful I felt at that very moment in time. There honestly was no other place that I would've rather been. I felt safe and cared for while Dustin held me there by the bridge's wall with the centuries old angel and priest statues hanging over us.

Suddenly Dustin spoke, startling me slightly. "Have you ever wondered how many before us have been standing here in this same exact spot doing exactly what we are doing right now?" he asked me.

I turned my head slightly and giggled softly, "Is that what you've been thinking about this whole time?"

I felt him shrug, "I don't know, sort of."

"Well, I'm sure there have been hundreds of couples who have done the same thing we're doing. It's kind of the perfect spot." I told him.

His arms tightened around me silently.

"Oh hey, did I tell you I talked to Aisha about Barry yesterday?"

Dustin looked slightly surprised, "No you didn't. What happened?"

I frowned, "See that's the thing. I don't know, she kind of skirted around the subject. She said no but it was the way that she said it. She had on her poker face though so I can't be for sure."

"Maybe we just shouldn't worry about it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Anyways, do you know what time it is?" he questioned.

I looked down at Dustin's wrist to his watch. "Uh, it's almost 11pm." I said, not bothering to hide the shock in my voice. "How is it that time passes so fast with us?"

"I really don't know but I think we should probably head back to the hotel."

I nodded sadly, "You're right."

"Aren't I always." He joked.

I squeezed his bicep in response, "Keep on with that wishful thinkin', honey."

* * *

**Dustin POV**

_**- Blatce, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

Today was reveal day and I was looking forward to showing our client, Ty McGee, what evidence we had gathered during our investigation of Castle Houska. It had turned out to be very active in activity and rewarding with evidence. In all, Castle Houska was probably on my top ten list for most exciting places I had been since joining GHI and the fact that I had Mercedes now to experience all that with me had made it all the better. Jim and Will had arrived earlier to set everything up with Ty and to tell him exactly how the reveal was going to work. When Robb and I showed up, everything was up and ready to rock.

"You ready for this reveal, man?" I asked Robb as he and I stood outside of the door to Castle Houska.

Robb nodded and answered me with a keen grin. "Well yes, I think Ty is going to be really pleased with our findings."

Shortly after Robb answered my question, the double doors flew open and Ty stood before us, wearing a polished white grin. He beckoned us into Castle Houska and led us towards the first main room in the castle where the producers had already set up a table with our equipment on top of it. Robb and I followed him in while wearing good spirits about the reveal. Ty seemed like he was eager to find out exactly what it was that we had found so we got started right away.

Ty sat down on one side of the table while Robb and I took our seats on the opposite side. Will and Jim powered up the cameras and counted down before giving us the signal that they had started filming.

"I see you two have lived to tell your tale." Ty commented with humor.

Robb smirked, "We're all present and accounted for at this time." He said before he got down to business. "Coming into this investigation, we knew that there were a lot of mysteries surrounding this castle. You told us this yourself. You wanted answers. You basically told us what happened to you and then sent us in to see if we could experience some of the same things."

I took over for Robb to start telling Ty about some of our personal experiences. "So one of the things that we as investigators often encounter are what we refer to are personal experiences. It would be classified as a personal experience when something happens to you, you see something, or feel something that you weren't able to document. I had my own personal experience up in the attic that night when I was investigating with Barry.

We had been having some pretty heavy activity so we were taking full spectrum shots to try and see what was going on, we were running an EVP session as well as having a handheld mini-DV to record as well. Barry and I both happened to be looking down towards the back end of the attic. We saw this big, black shadow that moves from left to right past this window in the attic. As soon as that happened, all these birds just start going absolutely crazy! That's not normal behavior…" I finished, trailing off.

Ty looked surprised, "No, that's not normal behavior at night."

"Well, for this thing to be running around up there and have this significant effect on our environment was pretty insane if you ask me." I replied.

Our client looked for a completely loss of words. All he uttered out was a simple, "Wow…"

Robb decided to continue on with more personal experiences. "During another part of our investigation, myself and Aisha were in the room where you saw an apparition of a woman walk right by you. We were holding an EVP session and to my surprise, I see something lean out and then lean back in from behind the wall, almost as if it was peaking in on us. At the same exact time as I see this happen, Aisha thinks she hears a voice. There wasn't any evidence caught of it happening, so it ends up being a personal experience."

"But personal experiences, in a way that is evidence to me because I know what I saw and to have you experience the same thing…" Ty declared with a look of awe on his features.

"That's true, but we're not going to come here and say here are some stories that you can add to yours. We want to give you true, concrete evidence. We got evidence." Robb replied.

Ty began to look excited, "Alright, show me what you found."

Knowing it was time to show the first piece of evidence, I got the first piece of video up on the computer to show to Ty. Once it was ready, I spoke to explain to Ty where in the castle this was happening at. "Okay, so this first piece was up in the attic, you told us to go up in the attic to find some pretty cool things."

Looking shocked, Ty nodded. "Oh boy, that attic…"

"What I'm going to be showing you is a piece of video, but it's the audio that you really want to be listening for." I explained. Ty nodded in complement. "Well, I was up there with Mercedes," I felt myself begin to smile just by saying her name, "and here is what happened to us while we were up there."

I pressed play and let the scene play out. It was an overhead shot of myself and Mercedes. You could clearly hear me say, "_If you are with us tonight, will you please give us a sign of your presence_?" then shortly after, a loud noise came from off camera. Mercedes and I both turn towards the sound in surprise then I say, "_What the hell was that? Did you hear that_?" Mercedes answers with, "_Yeah! I did hear it._"

I pressed stop on the recording and turned to see Ty's reaction. He asked us to play it again so I played the recording once more. I played the recording then decided to loop the area of the sound so Ty could get a better idea for what it was. Once I looped it a few times, Ty seemed satisfied and spoke.

"You know what it makes me think of on instinct?" he asked us.

Robb and I shrugged to let him continue.

And continue he did, "It makes me think of some sort of large gust of air, almost as an angry exhale."

"Yeah, that's exactly it. There is this sound coming from deep inside the attic and then shortly after this happens, Mercedes and I are just standing there," I caught myself smiling at her name again but continued hoping neither man caught it, "and I decided to take a rock off the floor and throw it down the attic and see what happens."

"Okay, let's see this." Ty muttered.

I pressed play on the recording and the three of us watched as the scene unfolded before us. The shot was focused on me bending down and to pick up a rock from the attic floor. I then toss it over towards the opposite side of the attic, "_Can you do that_?" you hear me ask.

It was quiet for a while. Then a loud crashing noise is emitted from the speakers hooked up to the laptop. Ty jumped slightly at the sound and looked completely shocked at what had just happened. Meanwhile, my voice on the recording stuttered in surprise. "_Y-yo, yo, yo! Did you hear that_? _It sounded as if someone threw something back at us_…"

Once I stopped play, I turned to Ty who had sat back in his chair in shock. "You know what, that was pretty shocking. That was completely incredible."

"Let me tell you, this hardly ever actually works." I said sarcastically. Robb laughed loudly while I continued, "I'll tell you what man, I jumped back and literally grabbed on to Mercedes and drug her back with me. I was flat against the back of that wall. I've never seen object manipulation of that degree before. I've never had it happen on command like that."

Ty smiled, "Have you ever been to the Gates of Hell before?" he said with irony.

"First time, brotha'."

"I'll tell you what…"

After we got our humor time out of the way, I finished with the final piece of evidence. "After this happened, I asked Mercedes to step out because it was starting to get a little unsafe of there and I thought it would be better if Barry came up to finish that particular part of the investigation with me. Not because she's a bad investigator because she's a good one, she really is but I was a little concerned about her…" I trailed off when I noticed Robb giving me a very strange look. Even Ty was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I asked Mercedes to step out and had Barry take her place so we could get some visual evidence with his full spectrum camera. While Barry and I were there taking pictures, his camera started to malfunction and actually began to take the pictures on its own. It literally took over one hundred photos completely on its own."

Robb took over while I started setting up the laptop to play Ty the sound. "Now, we were expecting something to really big to start happening. Barry's full spectrum has never done anything like this before. In fact, he was pretty boggled by this entire experience. The only thing is, when we reviewed the pictures, we found nothing in them. But when we replayed the audio of the camera taking pictures from the 360 mic that we had placed up in the rafters, we caught something else that we were not expecting."

"I'll play for you what we heard." I announced.

I pressed play. You heard the sound from the click of the camera about five times before something came through on the audio and said something. Then you could the click of the camera again. Nobody could discern what the voice had said, but we all agreed that something had been trying to speak with us. After playing the audio for Ty, his face brightened as he heard the word. Sitting back in his chair, he grinned lazily at us.

"You know what I heard on that recording?" he asked. "I thought I heard the word, '_Boj'_, which in Czech means come on, word of honor. It's almost like a challenge. If two mean were going to fight, one would say, '_Boj'_."

"You have the camera malfunctioning and a man's voice saying, 'come on' in Czech." Robb said, musing out loud.

Ty looked down at his hands and wrung them tonight, "He definitely doesn't sound afraid of us."

"Well here's the thing about that, nothing here seems particularly malicious. If it hasn't bothered you before, then it probably won't. We were fresh new blood coming in and prodding at it. More than likely, this is just something that it looking for attention. But we feel as though nothing here would purposely want to harm you. But, also know that if you are dealing with an inhuman spirit, that they can be extremely dangerous. If you ever have any questions or feel that something is happening that you don't have an answer to, feel free to call us any time." Robb offered. "In all, we came in to answer the mysteries that surrounded this place. Is this place the gateway to Hell? I don't know. Is it haunted? Without a doubt in my mind, yes."

Ty started to laugh, "Yeah, yeah I would agree with that."

"Well Ty, it was definitely a pleasure working with you. This place was great." Robb said as he shook his hand.

"Well thank you, you're welcome back anytime." Ty replied.

I shook his hand, "Thanks man."

Robb and I said our goodbye's to Ty before leaving the castle and heading back to the van. Robb started up the van and once we were buckled up, we started down the driveway and made our way back to the main road.

"We gathered enough evidence on this case that I really felt comfortable saying that this location is without a doubt haunted."

I nodded and laughed, "I'm kind glad that even he doesn't like to go up there in that attic, that's one pretty messed up place."

"Well we can officially check off the gateway to hell off our list, whatcha say?"

"That's right brotha', let's just head back out to the hotel and get ready for the next one."

"Absolutely, let's head back home." Robb finished.

Robb and I fell into silence for a while. The ride was peaceful and I was completely content to watch the rolling hills of green pass by while Robb drove onwards towards the Hilton. I was anxious to be back to Mercedes. She had sent me a text about the possibility of all of us going swimming once Robb and I returned from the reveal. Swimming sounded fun after a stressful week.

"So what was that back there about Mercedes?" Robb asked me seriously, breaking me from my thoughts.

I turned to him in puzzlement, "What are you talking about?"

"Dustin, during the reveal, you went on a rant going around in circles with your words about that girl. Even Ty noticed." Robb said, he sounded confused yet knowing at the same time—if that was even possible. "Is there something going on there?"

I was literally mentally kicking myself at that present moment in time. Mercedes and I had _just _had a talk about being more discreet and I had already ruined that. She was going to be pissed. I knew that to fix thing, I had to lie to Robb about it. I hated lying to him but I knew it was for the best.

"No, we're just friends. Why?"

Robb frowned, "Well, by the way that you two have been acting towards each other lately, I could have sworn there was something there. It's probably better though that you aren't dating. The producers don't like that too much."

I nodded, "I know."

Changing the subject, Robb replied. "Well, Mercedes told me that she has two cases picked out and she's wanting to show them to me when we get back."

"Do you have any idea where it is that we're going?" I prodded.

Robb smirked, "Maybe, but I'm not telling you. Seeing you squirm about not knowing it just too entertaining."

I frowned, "Thanks a lot."

The rest of the trip was made in silence other than the occasional comment from one of us. When we finally reached the hotel, nearly an hour later, we locked up the van and entered the hotel. I went to my room while Robb headed to Mercedes's.

Nearly two hours later, I got a knock on my connected door. When I threw it open, my girlfriend stood there wearing a brilliant smile. Other than her brilliant smile, the only other thing she was wearing was one of those short dress-like bathing suit cover ups. Keeping my mind out of the gutter or ogling her legs too much, I kissed her hello and asked what she was doing. Mercedes just poked my chest and told me to get ready to go swimming.

"We're meeting at the pool in ten minutes." She announced. With that, she closed the door and I was left alone.

I sighed before running a hand through my spiky hair. "Well," I mused out loud, "This is going to be interesting."

* * *

**Mercedes POV**

_**- Prague, Czech Republic. May 2009 -**_

When I finally awoke the next morning, I really didn't want to get out of bed right away even though it was already after noon. So instead, I decided to think back to what all had happened last night after leaving Charles Bridge…

After discovering the time last night, Dustin and I had got on the bus back to the Hilton and snuck back up to our rooms. We shared a very short goodnight kiss before parting ways. I wasn't necessarily tired so I ended up logging back on to my laptop to start researching information for the next case. I knew that I'd need to run it by Robb later on the next day so I wanted to get as much as the information figured out before I talked to him.

As I researched, I found that the more I found out about Moosham Castle, the more interested in it I was. The place had been the source of many witch hangings, murders and trials. There was actually even a torture chamber that still existed within the walls of the stronghold. There was no doubt that the amount of tragedy in this castle had been severe. This meant that there would be a greater chance of paranormal energy left behind. I sincerely hoped that Moosham Castle would be just as rewarding as Castle Houska had been—if not more. The only thing I could live without though was a repeat of the attic in Castle Houska. I could happily go through the rest of my life without experiencing something like that again. I loved hunting the paranormal but I didn't particularly like the fact that something had actually thrown an object at us. That just wasn't cool.

Porcia Castle on the other hand was said to have been haunted by a past cruel countess. In the 1950's it was purchased by the government and now served as a museum. The castle had become the source of many legends over the years. The thing that interested me the most was a police article where the alarm system of the castle had been set off only come to find out that absolutely no one was there, nothing was out of place and the security cameras caught nothing. Even the mayor had had something happen to him while visiting the castle.

I ended up falling asleep around 3am on my bed, curled up around my laptop. I was actually worried for my laptop because one of these days I was going to fall asleep while researching and probably end up pushing my poor laptop off the bed or crushing it. I made a mental note not to research on my bed anymore in the early hours of the morning.

When I finally pulled myself out of bed, Aisha decided that the two of us would spend a girl's day together. We dressed in simple sundresses paired with matching sunglasses and left our hair wavy and unstraightened just for fun. After getting to okay from Robb, the two of us headed to the train station that Dustin and I had used the night before. We then made our way over to Old Town and had lunch at _Bily Konicek_ Restaurant, which served Czech and International dishes. Aisha ordered a beef tenderloin with bohemian dumplings, cranberries and whipped cream. I ordered a grilled chicken breast, stuffed with bacon and herbs that was served with potato pure and tomato sauce.

"Oh my god, this is so good!" Aish exclaimed while taking a bit of her tenderloin and dumplings.

I shook my head, "There's no way that it can be as good as this." I told her while pointing at my chicken and potatoes.

After a very satisfying lunch, Aisha and I decided to go shopping. Old Town Square had a permanent market on one side that sold arts, crafts, and souvenirs. They also had crystal shops and small boutiques. After checking out all the small stores in Old Town Square and not really finding anything we wanted, we walked the five minute distance over to Wenceslas Square and the pedestrian street _Na Prikope_. They had a good mix of International department stores, local shops and banks. _Marks & Spencer_, _Debenhams_, _H&M_, _C&A_ and _Bata_ were just a few of the well known stores they had. My mother would have had a field day here. Luckily, Aisha and I weren't as into shopping as she was. We had more fun trying on things and critiquing them than actually buying them and wearing them.

Aisha and I knew that we couldn't buy a whole lot of things to add on to our ever growing collection of clothes so we settled for a few souvenirs for our families. While shopping, we got some really good fruit smoothies from a local stand.

"I love smoothies." Aisha exclaimed while slurping on hers.

"Yes, it should definitely be its own food group." I laughed.

Aisha giggled, "I honestly couldn't agree with you more."

Around 6:30pm, Aisha and I started to head back to the hotel. On the way back, we decided that we should definitely go swimming that night after Robb and Dustin got back from the reveal and I showed the case files to Robb. I sent Dustin a text, filling him in on the swimming details. We also let Joe and Barry in on the plan and they thought it was a good idea as well. Since we had a really late lunch, we decided to forego dinner and Barry and Joe ate without us. They brought us back some desert from the restaurant though.

Robb and Dustin returned to the hotel around 7pm and Robb and I got straight to work with the next case. He was pleasantly surprised when I told him that I had not just one case researched, but _two_. Robb told me that if he could get a hold of the first client from Moosham Castle tonight, we could probably leave in a couple days for Austria. Luckily, the producers were as excited about these two new cases as we were and gave us the green light to do both cases. When everything was all cleared by the producers, Robb called our client. So after a twenty minute phone call with the client from Moosham Castle, Robb's words had been confirmed. We were expected in Unternberg, Austria to investigate the following Thursday, which was four days from now. I did a little happy dance around the hotel room after Robb told me. He laughed at this and told me I was crazy. Frankly, I didn't care.

Robb left my suite about ten minutes later to get ready to go swimming so I changed into my blue, yellow, white and green gingham design swimsuit and a short bandeau dress to cover myself up before knocking on Dustin's connecting room door to tell him the news.

"What are you doing here?" Dustin asked me while looking me up and down.

After a few moments of staring at me, he snapped from his daze and leaned down to give me a kiss. I poked his chest when he was done kissing me.

"We're going to go swimming. So get ready." I demanded with a smirk.

Dustin put his hand over where I had poked him and opened his mouth to speak. I cut him off and simply told him we were leaving in ten minutes. He looked surprised but didn't voice against it. I left his room and shut the door behind me while laughing the entire time at his shocked expression.

After grabbing my phone and room key, I headed down to the indoor pool where Aisha, Barry and Joe were waiting for Robb, Dustin and I. Sliding my room key into the slot outside the door, I patiently waited for the door to unlock. Once it did, I stepped into the sauna like room and walked over towards the table that the others had already sat down all our belongings on. I removed my bandeau dress and placed it on a chair before sitting my room key and phone on top of it.

Aisha, Barry and Joe were already sitting inside the Jacuzzi, relaxing and talking amongst themselves. Aisha was dressed in a coral colored two piece with her hair in a high ponytail to keep it from getting wet. Barry's trunks were a colorful design of bright green and white while Joe's were dark green and black striped. They each had highball drink glasses in their hands with some kind of colorful drink inside it. There were three more empty glasses and a large pitcher filled with the colorful drink sitting on the tiled flooring by the edge of the Jacuzzi. Aisha held the drink daintily in her hand while laughing at something Joe was saying. Barry was listening with interest while sipping on his drink. I had never felt more at home than I did at this moment. These people were becoming my family in more ways than one.

I walked over to them and smiled as I sat down next to Aisha. The warm water and relaxing jets felt amazing. The bubbles immediately began to gather around my bust, covering my entire body minus my chest, neck and head. They all greeted me as I got comfortable in the water but I only had eyes for the strange drinks in their hands. I was curious as to what they were drinking, "What's this?"

Aisha took a swig of her drink before grinning lazily, "It's called _Hollywood Nights_. Barry and Joe went up and ordered a pitcher for us from Cloud Nine."

"This pitcher is our celebration of a case well done." Joe joked.

I nodded. "Oh, I see. Hmmm…what's in it?" I asked.

"Flavored Rum, Banana Liqueur, and Pineapple Juice." Barry answered for me. "It's actually quite good. I wasn't sure what to get since my specialty is beer, not fruit drinks. So, I let Joe pick something random."

"You're responsible for this?" I asked, looking pointedly at Joe.

Joe shrugged, "Uh, yes? I'm Asian. I don't have to have a reason to do something."

While I was laughing at Joe's Asian joke, Aish handed me her glass to let me taste it myself before I poured myself an entire glass. I let the flavor set in my mouth for a few moments before I grinned and reached behind me to the pitcher. "Well Joe, you and you're Asian random picking skills are pretty damn good at picking out drinks."

A voice behind me startled all four of us, "Asian picking skills? Now that's a new one."

Looking behind me, I saw Robb and Dustin standing shirtless with amused looks on their faces. Once they realized they had our attention, they too sat waded into the hot tub. I laughed as Robb made an 'ooo' sound as the hot water made contact with his skin. Aisha and I poured the two boys their drinks and demanded that they try them. Luckily, both boys liked the fruity drink and we all held out our drinks out slightly towards the center of our small circle and made a toast.

"To another case closed!" Robb announced.

"Wait!" Aisha exclaimed, stopping us from finishing the toast. "You know, the case closed thing makes me think of _CSI_ or _Cold_ _Case_. Shouldn't it be like, another '_investigation'_ or '_ghost_ _hunt'_ closed instead of '_case'_?"

Robb rolled his eyes, "Fine!" he exclaimed. "To another _Ghost Hunters International_ investigation closed." Aisha nodded in approval as we all clinked our glasses together before we all took a drink.

"And to many more!" Aisha added in finality.

It really was the end to the perfect case and I couldn't wait for the next.

**The End.**


End file.
